


Love's a Gamble (but for you I'd go all in)

by lqior_astra



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Banter, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Jisbon!, Mutual Pining, Romance, Undercover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:56:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27669875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lqior_astra/pseuds/lqior_astra
Summary: When a case turns up that is connected to a gambling ring in Oakland, Jane and Lisbon have to go undercover as a married couple in order to get the evidence they need to crack the case. Both are dealing with supposedly unrequited feelings for the other, but will sharing a house and being in a false relationship bring them together? Written as my gift to nitro9 as part of Jane's Gift Exchange 2020.
Relationships: Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon
Comments: 99
Kudos: 70
Collections: Patrick Jane's Gift Exchange 2020





	1. The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nitro9](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nitro9/gifts).



> Hello hello! 
> 
> This story was written to fulfill a challenge prompt asking for J/L fluff, banter, and romance. This is a multichapter story, and because the challenge ends on the 30th, I'll be posting a chapter a day until then. I hope you enjoy it! Nitro9, this one is for you.

“Jane, how are you already here?” Lisbon asked grumpily. 

“Well, you know what they say, rise and grind!” he answered much too cheerfully. “Besides, your apartment is further away from here than the office, so of course I got here first.” 

“Of course,” she echoed, rolling her eyes. 

Just then, Rigsby walked up to the pair. He looked extremely well-rested, quite the opposite of Jane and Lisbon. Jane never really slept much anyway, and Lisbon would be more awake if she had had time to grab a cup of coffee before leaving the house. But duty calls, so the team found themselves standing in a back alley in Oakland at five in the morning. 

“Morning, boss,” Rigsby said carefully. He knew it was much too early for Lisbon to be at her best and brightest, so he did the best he could to not incur her wrath. 

“Hey, Rigsby. What’ve we got?” 

“John and Jane Doe, shot three times each in the chest and dumped here. Fingerprints have been removed as well as anything we could use to identify them, so I guess we have to wait for dental records,” Rigsby said. 

Jane moved closer for inspection. 

“They’re married,” he said. 

Rigsby scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, we saw the rings but we didn’t know if they were married to each other.” 

“They are,” Jane said confidently. “The inscriptions on the outside of the bands match.”

Lisbon snapped on a pair of gloves and removed the rings from both victims. 

“Jane’s right,” she said. “The inscriptions are the same. It reads: to my soulmate.” 

Rigsby shrugged as Lisbon put the rings into evidence bags. “There’s not much else to go off of here, boss. Do you think it was a gang hit?” 

“Not likely,” said a voice from behind Lisbon. “If you don’t mind, we’re going to take over this scene from here.” 

Lisbon whipped around so fast Jane thought she must have whiplash. Rigsby sighed. If this kept up, it was going to be a very long day. 

“Who the hell are you?” She asked indignantly. “And what the hell are you doing here?” 

“I’m Agent John Walker and this here’s Agent Brian Sanchez.” 

Agent Walker was a tall, muscular man who looked to be in his mid-forties. He wore a gray suit jacket and carried himself with the air of a man who was used to getting his way. In comparison, Agent Sanchez looked like a twig. He was a gangly young man with dark hair and couldn’t have been any older than thirty-five. 

“Agents,” Lisbon said, shaking their hands in turn. “What brings you here?” 

“We’re here to take over your case,” Walker stated simply. 

It was then that Lisbon noticed Van Pelt standing further back than the two men, holding her laptop and wearing an apologetic look on her face. They must have pushed past both her and the crime scene tape to get here, Lisbon thought. 

“Why? Minelli gave his express permission for us to handle this case,” Rigsby said. 

“And who are you?” the young man asked, sneering at Rigsby. 

“Agent Wayne Rigsby of the Serious Crimes Unit,” he said, crossing his arms. 

The older man stepped up. “Agent Rigsby, I’m going to have to ask you to remove your team from the premises. This is our case, and we’ll be handling the scene.” 

Lisbon flushed a deep red and Jane inhaled nervously. A pissed off Lisbon was no laughing matter. 

“Actually, this is my team. I’m Teresa Lisbon, senior agent,” she started, her cheeks still scarlet. 

Walker laughed. “Suit yourself, Agent Lisbon. You still need to leave.” 

“With all due respect, you have no right to tell us where to go and when,” Lisbon said with clenched teeth. “I lead the serious crimes unit, and as of half an hour ago this officially became our crime scene. You have no jurisdiction here.” 

“I think you’ll find that we are competent individuals, Agent Lisbon. Now, about your team? Why are you still here?” Sanchez demanded. 

“Now, now everyone. I’m sure we can solve this problem without coming to blows,” Jane said, stepping between Lisbon and Walker. “Just put your guns and fists away, and we can talk this out like men.” 

“Yes. Like men,” Walker said, emphasizing the last word with a nod in Lisbon’s direction. 

She bared her teeth and scowled at him. There was no worse start to a day than someone questioning her authority. It was one of Lisbon’s biggest pet peeves, many people didn’t take her seriously in the field because she was a woman. Lisbon enjoyed nothing more than doing her job and showing up to anyone who got in her way, but if her gut was telling her anything, it was that these men weren’t going to go away easily. 

“Now, Agent Walker, that’s not a good example. Let’s clear the scene and go back to headquarters, maybe we need to talk to Minelli,” Jane suggested. 

“Great idea,” Lisbon mumbled as they walked away. “Minelli has a lot of explaining to do.” 

_

The ride back to Sacramento from Oakland was a dismal affair, Lisbon choosing to steep in her anger in silence. Jane sat in the passenger seat of her SUV, for once not wanting to say or do anything that could provoke her. He knew what she was like when she was mad, and he knew for a fact that riling up a pocket rocket, gun-toting, sharpshooting CBI agent would be a huge mistake. 

Instead, he offered to talk to her. 

“Those guys were really something, huh?” he hedged carefully. 

“Were they ever,” she grumbled. 

“Lisbon, it’s okay to be angry. In fact, it’s perfectly normal to be mad when someone insults your position or status.” 

“Thanks for the psychology lesson, Professor Jane,” Lisbon said sarcastically. 

“I’m serious. If you’re angry, it’s better to let it out than let it eat you up from the inside out.” 

“I fully intend on letting it all out. Later. At the handgun range.” 

“Lisbon.” 

“What do you want me to say? That I’m mad? You know perfectly well that I’m mad.” 

“No. I’d rather you get it out now before the meeting with Minelli. You know full well that it probably won’t go in your favor,” Jane said thoughtfully. 

“Fine. Who the hell do those guys think they are? Showing up at what’s clearly our scene and demanding control of it?” she asked, increasing her volume with each question. “I don’t understand why every time we end up with a jurisdictional disagreement, no one wants to take it up with me! It’s not like I drove an hour and a half at crazy hours in the morning to get here or anything!” 

“That’s more like my Lisbon,” Jane said quietly. 

“And another thing. Do people really think women are that incompetent as to insult my position? For god’s sake, do I not seem like I’m in control?” she seethed. 

Jane waited until she had calmed down to speak. It always ended up better for him when he let her get it all out. “Feeling better?” 

“A bit, yeah. You were right.” 

“I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that,” he said, earning him a trademark Lisbon eye roll. “It’s better to get it out of your system. Now come on, we’ve got a case to save.” 

_

"Is there a problem?" Virgil Minelli asked. 

"Sir, if I may-" Walker began but was cut off by Minelli clearing his throat.

"If it's alright with you, I'd like to hear Lisbon's side of the story."

"This morning, my team was called out early to investigate the site of a shooting. Oakland PD called in for state backup, it fell under serious crimes. That makes it our case doesn't it?" Lisbon asked, arms crossed. 

"Technically, yes. Agents Walker and Sanchez, why did you show up at the crime scene?" 

"Sir, we believe that the victims of Agent Lisbon's case are connected to a gambling ring we've been keeping tabs on," Sanchez explained.

Minelli raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure that?" 

"These people are barbarians. They hire ultimate fighters and pit them against each other. The spectators gamble on the fights. Our team's been keeping an eye on it, and everyone who gets into gambling on the fights ends up dead when they try to get out. The execution method is universal, three shots to the chest and fingerprints either sanded or burned off," Walker said. 

“I’ve read your reports. Thorough, but no conclusive results yet,” Minelli said, nodding. 

“Uh, correct,” Sanchez agreed. 

“Sir, they have nothing to back up their theory,” Lisbon argued. “It’s speculation!” 

“It’s a connection,” Minelli said, gently correcting her. 

“So what? Suppose we go along with this investigation. How exactly do you plan on busting this ring if you haven’t ever come close to it before?” Lisbon asked, raising her voice. 

“This time will be different.” 

Lisbon snorted. “I wouldn’t be so sure.” 

“Agents,” Minelli warned. 

“Sorry, sir,” Walker and Sanchez chorused. 

“I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but if you’ve never come close to catching these guys in action before, how do you figure you’re going to get them this time around? What tactics have you used?” asked Lisbon. 

Sanchez tapped his chin thoughtfully before answering. “We set up a rapid response team, they’d go in to raid the buildings said to have any sort of connection with the guys we’re looking for.” 

Minelli looked interested. “Did anything turn up?” 

“Unfortunately, no,” Walker said, taking over. “Every time we were called in, the buildings were clear and betting receipts burned. These guys are good at what they do.” 

“Who’s the ringleader?” 

“It’s in the report,” Sanchez said. “We’ve caught wind of a guy named James Garrett, we don’t know if that’s his real name, but he seems to be the head honcho of the whole operation.” 

“Is he the one who tells people where to be and when?” asked Minelli. 

“Yes. It’s a lot of men and women looking for a thrill and a place to score. That’s what I assume happened to our John and Jane Doe from this morning,” Walker explained. 

“That’s pure conjecture!” Lisbon argued. 

"It's a start," Minelli said, attempting to calm her. "Which is all we have for right now. I've made a decision. Lisbon, you'll work in coordination with Agent Walker's team. Explore the connection between our John and Jane Doe and this gambling ring."

Lisbon hung her head in defeat. "Yes, sir."

_

Jane stood up from his couch as soon as he saw Lisbon leaving Minelli's office. She was scowling and her arms were crossed over her chest tightly, a sure sign that the meeting hadn't gone in her favor.

"Hey, Jane?" Van Pelt stopped him. "Not sure you want to go in there. Look." 

Jane peeked through the blinds separating her office from the bullpen. 

"It must be bad," Grace continued. "She's tidying up her desk." 

"I'm going to talk to her," Jane said decisively.

"Suit yourself," Rigsby said, passing by. "But you might want to grab a bulletproof vest before you do. You know, just in case." 

"Meh. She wouldn't shoot me in her office, it's far too public. It's a risk I'm willing to take," Jane said. 

He opened the door right as Lisbon flopped down in her chair. 

"Hello, Lisbon."

"What do you want, Jane? Has the team gotten the identities of our victims yet?"

"Van Pelt's working on it. How did the meeting with Minelli go?" he asked, deftly changing the subject. 

"Just great," she replied sarcastically. "We've been put on coordination with the Organized Crime unit because Minelli thinks our victims have something to do with a fighting and gambling ring, but I'm not so sure." 

"So you mean we're stuck with those two clowns for the duration of this investigation?” 

“Yep.” 

He rubbed his hands together gleefully. “This is gonna be fun.” 

“Don’t you dare try anything,” she said, fixing him with one of her trademark I’ll-kill-you-and-get-away-with-it glares.

“I’m just saying, maybe they’ll give up the case if someone were to annoy them enough.” 

“Or they would report you to Minelli.” 

“Meh.” 

“Jane, we have to at least hear them out. Walker said his team has been formulating a plan to infiltrate the group for a couple of months now, and they just got the go-ahead from Minelli today,” she explained. 

“We don’t have to be a part of this scheme, do we?” 

“Maybe. It depends on whether or not our victims are confirmed to be a part of this gambling ring.” 

Just then, Van Pelt dropped a file on Lisbon’s desk. “The victims are Tanner and Christie Shade. Organized crime just confirmed that they were in with the Oakland White Bulls, supposedly gambling on fights.” 

Lisbon bit back a groan. Of course they were. “So were these people donors? A rich couple looking for a thrill?” 

“Not that I can see. They seemed to be fairly normal, husband has a couple of hits for DUI’s and disorderly conduct, but other than that nothing. Middle class. It just seems like they got in with the wrong crowd,” Grace theorized. 

“Wrong crowd is right,” Jane piped up from the couch. “Lisbon, it seems that we have no other choice but to go along with Walker’s plan.” 

“What do you mean, Walker’s plan?” Van Pelt asked, shooting a warning glance at Jane. 

“Lisbon was just telling me that Walker’s team has come up with an idea of how to catch these ‘White Bulls’.” 

Sanchez chose that moment to peek into Lisbon’s office. “I just got confirmation on our victims. Your team needs to meet with ours for a briefing.” 

“A briefing on what? My team knows everything that we need to,” Lisbon said, not moving. 

“A briefing on the plan. Our team has been waiting months for the right confirmation to move forward with our proposed operation, and now we have it. We need to get started as soon as possible to prevent more people from getting killed, and we’ll need your full cooperation.” 

Lisbon knew when to admit defeat, and now was not the time to try and fight back against this man. 

“Fine. We’ll meet you there in ten minutes,” she relented. 

Sanchez looked satisfied and dramatically closed the door. 

“What’s that all about?” Van Pelt asked her, genuine curiosity playing across her face. 

“I have no idea. I guess we’ll find out.”

_

Ten minutes later, Lisbon’s team found themselves assembled in a conference room with Walker’s team. He stood at the front of the room with their track board of all of the victims so far. Just at a glance, Lisbon could tell that this was much more serious than she had anticipated. There were probably ten or more pictures of different people who fell victim to this gambling ring, and who paid the price with their lives. 

Walker shuffled up to the front of the room and cleared his throat. “Agents, as you know we found two victims of a shooting this morning in Oakland with ties to the White Bulls. This is the confirmation we needed to get permission to carry out our proposed sting operation. We will be sending two agents undercover as potential interests in the ring so that they can get inside and deal us the information we need to bust these guys once and for all.” 

“Who do you propose to send?” Rigsby asked, raising his hand. 

“We’ll have a male and a female, they’ll be posing as a married couple,” Sanchez answered unceremoniously. “We want to make sure we fit the pattern of the last victims as much as possible.”

“Which agents are you sending?” Lisbon asked suspiciously. 

“Um, our female agent, Willow Smith, is out on maternity leave at the moment,” Walker hedged. “I was going to ask if you would do it, Agent Lisbon.” 

“Me? You want me to work your case?” 

“As of this morning, it’s officially our case. You will continue to work the case remotely from where you are stationed in addition to infiltrating our gang. Agent Sanchez here will be your male counterpart. We’ll need your terms of revision or acceptance by the end of the day, any problems or questions you may have will be taken up with Minelli and me. As for everyone else, we’ll discuss surveillance and extraneous covers tomorrow. I’m sending the case files over to you to study up on, we need as much insider knowledge as possible.”

On the way back to the bullpen, Jane cornered Lisbon. 

“You can’t seriously be thinking about doing this, can you?” he hissed. 

“What do you mean? It’s my job!” 

“You hardly know that guy! How are you going to keep your cover of being fake married if you’ve only met him today?” 

Lisbon’s eyes went wide. “Are you jealous?” 

“No!” he protested. 

“You sure?” 

“Yes! I’m just thinking that they’ll see right through you and you’ll get caught, that’s all. I don’t want you to end up like those victims in the alleyway this morning,” Jane explained calmly. 

He always claimed he was the mentalist, but at this moment she could see right through him. He was jealous, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Patrick Jane was jealous that she would be fake married to someone else, which was odd because as far as she knew, he wasn’t romantically interested in her at all. If she didn’t know better, she thought he might volunteer to go, but as Agent Walker had said, they were planning on sending in two agents, which Jane was most certainly not. 

“Jane, relax. I have until this afternoon to offer my terms of revision, I fully intend on asking for someone else to be my partner for this. Someone from the team, who I actually have known for more than a few hours,” she said with a grin. 

“That’s, uh, that’s a good idea,” he said, looking visibly relieved. 

“I’ll catch you in a second, okay, Jane? I’m going to talk to Minelli about my terms, be back in a little bit.” 

He turned to her to respond, but she was already gone.

_

“Lisbon? Here already to give me your terms, I expect,” Minelli commented good-naturedly as she settled herself in the chair across from his desk. 

“Yes, sir. I intend to accept the job.” 

“Good. You’ll do it well.” 

“Uh, thanks, sir. My only term is that I work with someone I know better than Agent Sanchez. No offense to him, but Jane was just pointing out to me that it could blow our cover if we slip up, and I’m less likely to make a mess of it if someone I know is undercover with me.” 

“Interesting. Of course, Teresa, anything here you request will be taken seriously. I understand that you’re a hard worker and wouldn’t try to change the plan just to lighten your own workload. Who do you propose to take with you?” 

She leaned back in her seat. “I’m not sure. Maybe Rigsby, he has experience with undercover work.” 

Minelli smiled. “As good an idea as that is, I’m sure Agent Rigsby’s talents will be better put to use here.” His eyes lit up as if a thought had just occurred to him. “I have an idea. You’ll take Jane. The two of you have been working together for years, you fit together like clockwork. He has the ability to think well on his feet, and you can keep him in check.” 

Lisbon turned pink and could only nod. “Sir, Jane’s not an agent.” 

“For this, I’ll let it slide. I think this is the best way for the cover not to be blown, don’t you?” 

The heat on Lisbon’s face flared as she realized what this would entail. She would be sharing a house with Patrick Jane for as long as the investigation took. It wasn’t that she minded sharing her living space with someone else, quite the opposite in fact. Lisbon enjoyed having other people around, as long as they let her have personal time when she needed it. What bothered her about this situation was that it was Jane. 

Of course, Jane and Lisbon were friends, they had been for a long time, but she didn’t like the idea of getting so close and personal to someone who wouldn’t let her into his life. Granted, she was also a very private person, but she knew that for this operation to work, they would have to be completely honest with each other about everything. Lisbon didn’t know if Jane would be willing to do that. 

But instead of voicing her concerns, she told Minelli that his idea was a good one and that she would go with it. 

The man smiled and turned back to his paperwork. “Good. I’m going to give you the rest of the day off today to get your things in order and let Jane know. Tomorrow we have case briefings, but we need to get started with this as soon as we can. You’ll be headed out to the house tomorrow afternoon.” 

That was soon, Lisbon thought. Not much time to prepare. 

“Thanks, boss,” she called to Minelli.

_

Lisbon found Jane sitting on his couch in the bullpen nursing a cup of tea. Van Pelt was sitting on Rigsby’s desk, looking at her expectantly. Jane must have told them, Lisbon thought. News sure travels fast around here. 

“Who’s going with you?” Van Pelt blurted at the same time Jane asked, “When are you leaving?” 

She grinned and perched on the arm of Jane’s couch. “We’re leaving tomorrow, after all the case briefings.” 

“Who’s ‘we’?” Grace pressed. 

Lisbon’s face turned beet red. “Jane and I. Minelli’s assigned us as the two to go undercover.” 

“Interesting,” Jane murmured. “This is going to be fun.” 

“Yeah, fun,” she replied sarcastically. “I’ve got to share a house with the biggest pain in the ass I know.” 

Van Pelt giggled, and Lisbon fixed her with a stare. 

“Anyways,” Lisbon continued, “We have the rest of the day off to get our things in order and prepare to leave tomorrow. Pack for a week, we can do laundry while we’re there.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Jane said with a mock salute, earning him a slap on the shoulder. 

“As for the rest of you,” Lisbon said, turning her attention to Van Pelt, Rigsby, and Cho. “Read up on those case files. If nothing new comes in, you can leave at four. Call me if you need anything.” 

As Lisbon grabbed her bags and left the office, Jane had to silently chuckle to himself. This was going to be fun. He could never resist an opportunity to tease Lisbon or play a joke on her, and having to share a house? It was all too easy. 

Later that night, Lisbon puttered around her apartment getting things ready to go. It shocked her to no end that Minelli would even consider letting her bring Jane, but she had to admit it put her mind slightly at ease. At least she knew someone would have her back. Suddenly, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Jane. 

“See you tomorrow, honey,” it read, with a winking face at the end. 

“You’re insufferable,” she replied quickly, before turning the phone off. 

After she turned off all the lights in her bedroom and locked up for the night, she couldn’t help but lay awake and think of what the next couple of days might entail. Was it wrong to be excited? Jane seemed fairly exuberant about the whole thing. 

“This might not be so bad after all,” she thought to herself.


	2. Well Begun is Half Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day that Jane and Lisbon have to spend together in the house...fluff and humor ahead! :)

Lisbon showed up to her morning briefing with an almost comically large cup of the strongest coffee she could find. Sleep had evaded her for hours the night before, leaving her mind foggy and her body exhausted. In a last-ditch effort to wake herself up, she had wandered into the kitchenette and brewed a new pot of coffee. 

Lisbon had spent a fair amount of time yesterday making sure that all of the things she would need for the undercover mission were packed and ready to go, as she and Jane were leaving that morning after briefings. She was a light packer by nature, cramming only what was necessary into a duffel bag and a backpack. Even though she had finished packing by the evening, she was kept up by anxious thoughts of the days to come. Especially after that sad attempt at comedy that Jane had texted her last night. 

“Good morning, Lisbon,” Jane crowed cheerfully, plopping down in the seat next to her. 

“Morning. We’re planning on leaving right from work, you brought all your stuff, right?” 

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s business as usual with you,” he commented. “All work, all the time. Not even the slightest mention of our planned romantic getaway.” 

“Jane,” she warned. “Don’t you even start. This is not a ‘romantic getaway’, this is work. It’s a mission, for once in your life please take something seriously.” 

Before he had the chance to respond, the rest of the team filed into the room with their various caffeinated drinks. Jane decided that this was not the best time to pick a fight, especially since they would have to be in the car for an hour and a half. 

“As you all know, today we are sending Agent Lisbon and Patrick Jane undercover to infiltrate the Oakland White Bulls. I hope everyone has read the files that were sent over, if we’re going to get this right we have to be prepared for anything,” Agent Walker explained to everyone. 

“Will we be stationed here in Sacramento or in Oakland?” Rigsby asked. 

It was a good question, Lisbon thought. She had been wondering the same thing. 

“For the duration of the op, we’ll be sending an agent down every two days to check in on Jane and Lisbon and update them on any security issues or intel that we might receive. Whoever goes won’t stay long, maybe two hours maximum. The White Bulls might be keeping tabs on them once they’re in, so too many cars coming and going will look suspicious. In the meantime, the CBI will provide our operatives with funds for anything they need to pull this mission off,” Sanchez answered, gesturing at Jane and Lisbon. 

“Does that include money for tea?” Jane had to know. 

Lisbon glared at him and Van Pelt stifled a giggle. He was obsessed with tea, and if there wasn’t any for him in the house, he would drive her crazy with his complaining about it. Lisbon supposed that since they were being provided with a card for grocery shopping, that could be used for buying his tea. 

Agent Walker did not find this question as amusing as Jane did. He chose not to answer, instead fixing him with a firm stare that clearly meant that he thought Jane was unprofessional. Jane, knowing what was best for him, quickly shut up. 

“Any days in which you aren’t being visited in person by an agent you are free to carry on as you like,” Walker told them. “You will have to make sure that you are making the right kinds of connections with the right people at the locations we give you, but you can go about doing it however you want. You are both allowed to bring your cell phones and laptops to talk to your team and work cases remotely if you wish.” 

“Are we going with cover identities?” Lisbon asked. 

Minelli spoke up from the back of the room. “I don’t think it’s necessary. You can keep your IDs and wallets with you and use them when you go out, but you should keep your CBI badges in the house at all times. If anyone sees you with them, this whole operation is toast.” 

Lisbon nodded. 

“And another thing,” Minelli continued. “When you’re not alone, you have to make sure that you refer to each other by first name. It sounds very odd in a social setting when two supposedly married people start calling each other by their last names.” 

This is exactly what Lisbon had been dreading. She and Jane were very close, but she didn’t want to ruin the dynamic of their working relationship and friendship with the intimacy that would most certainly come from a first name basis. That being said, she never did mind when he called her Teresa, especially that heart-fluttering way that he pronounced the ‘s’ in her name as a ‘z’, making it sound like something far more fun and exotic. 

“Do we have any more questions?” 

“What about cams? Is there a security system set up in the house?” Cho asked, ever the pragmatist. 

“We’ve equipped the house with a state of the art security camera and alarm system for the safety of Lisbon and Jane. At night, you’ll have to set the alarms so that they’ll go off if a door or window is open. As for cameras, they are only on the outside of the house and are motion sensing. They don’t pick up sound, but if so much as a squirrel runs through the grass, the camera will turn on and pick it up. We take the safety of our agents very seriously,” Sanchez said, showing Cho the viewing angles from the cameras.   
“Agent Van Pelt, have you finished wiretapping their phones and computers?” Minelli asked. 

“Yes, sir. I went into your accounts and gave myself and the CBI database monitoring access to text conversations, email records, and any activity on the software. Don’t worry,” Van Pelt added, noting the anxious look on Lisbon’s face. “No personal conversations or information can be seen. The only messages we’ll be able to read are ones that go to Cho, Rigsby, or me. The email tap is just in case you need to contact anyone else. If anyone tries to work their way into the system, we’ll know about it.” 

Lisbon couldn’t help but feel a rush of pride at Grace’s quick work and explanation. Although she was still a junior agent, there was a lot to be said about her experience in computers. 

“Well, if there are no other questions, you’re all welcome to go,” Walker said, dismissing them. “Jane and Lisbon, good luck.” 

_

He caught up with her in her office as she crawled under her desk to pull the charger for her laptop out of its power strip. It had been a while since she had to take her work computer anywhere, and the cord seemed to be stuck in its socket. 

“Hey, Lisbon, I’m ready to go when you…” Jane said, trailing off when he didn’t see her. “Lisbon?” 

She jumped. “Damn it!” she yelled as she hit her head on the underside of the desk. Lisbon emerged from under the table, power cord in hand, and rubbing the top of her head in pain. 

“Lisbon, are you okay?” 

“I’m fine. You just scared me and I hit my head, that’s all.” 

“Want me to kiss it and make it better?” 

“No!” she screeched. “Jane, if you don’t knock it off with those comments, so help me I will-” 

“Is everything okay in here?” Agent Walker asked from the doorway. 

“Everything’s fine,” Lisbon replied casually, hiding her clenched teeth behind a smile. “We were just leaving.” 

“Great!” Walker said enthusiastically. “Let me know when you guys get to the house, I left the address with your field envelope at employee services. Feel free to take today to get all set up, really get the lay of the land before heading out, okay?” 

“Sounds great,” Jane said, trying desperately to calm Lisbon down. “We’ll let you know when we get there, but we really must be going. Gotta beat the traffic,” he continued, ushering Lisbon out the door of her office to the elevator. 

By the time they had picked up their field package and were on their way, Lisbon’s mood had improved significantly. For once in her life, she was glad to be spending extra time with Patrick Jane. If there was anything good to be said about his company, it was that he made an excellent driving buddy. He would try to hum or whistle along to anything that came on the radio, no matter how out of tune, much to Lisbon’s amusement. 

It only took them about an hour and a half before they arrived at what would be their house for however long this took. It seemed normal enough, a gray two-story on the outskirts of Oakland. Lisbon’s first thought was that it was a lot bigger than her apartment, but then again, so were most houses. Lisbon sent a quick text to her team and Agent Walker, letting them know that they had found the house and were settling in okay. Jane had popped the trunk of her SUV, both of them unanimously agreed on taking the more inconspicuous of their vehicles. 

“Home sweet home,” Jane quipped as he handed her a duffel bag. 

“No kidding. There’s a lot we need to do, you know,” she said as they unlocked the front door. 

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t opening up the front door to a fully furnished home. It looked like one of those model houses that real estate companies showed to potential buyers. The kitchen and living room were connected in the center of the house, and just off the entryway, there was a staircase leading to what he assumed was the bedroom and bathroom. It wasn’t a large house by any extension of the word, but it was cozy and there was plenty of room for the two of them. Jane was happy to see a couch and a nice TV in the living room, for those nights when they weren’t supposed to go out. 

Lisbon threw her bags onto the kitchen table and pulled out their field package. Usually, these contained anything they might need to help keep their cover, but since Minelli had vetoed the idea of fake IDs, Jane couldn’t possibly guess what was in there. 

Lisbon poured the contents of the envelope out on the table and stifled a gasp. 

“What’s in there, Lisbon?” he asked, genuinely curious. 

“Uh, we’ve got a card to get groceries, some false legal documents to make it look like we own the house, some fake mail to prove that we live here, and umm…” she trailed off. 

Jane inspected the falsified house papers. “This looks pretty real. One might even believe that we’re actually living together.” 

“Yeah, it all does look real,” she responded, a bad attempt at subtlety. 

“Lisbon?” 

“What?” 

“What else is in the envelope?” he prodded gently. 

She turned to face him, concern showing in her green eyes. “Wedding rings.” 

“What? Why?” 

“Because, Jane. We have to make this look real, if we say we’re married and we don’t have any rings, it’s going to look suspicious.” 

His gaze dropped from her face to the ring sitting in its usual place on his left hand. “Teresa, I don’t know.” 

“You know what, it’s okay. Keep it on, I’m not going to make you take it off if you’re not ready. I’ll wear the one they gave me for the op, no one will be looking closely enough to tell that they don’t match.” 

“Thanks.” 

But as soon as it had started, his moment of vulnerability was over. He assumed his usual joking manner and took Lisbon’s ring from the bag.

Getting down on one knee, he said, “Teresa Lisbon, will you make me the happiest man alive and be my fake wife for the duration of this mission?” 

“Jane!” she squeaked, face turning red. 

“It’s Patrick,” he corrected. 

“Fine. Patrick. Yes, I’ll be your fake wife. But only because I have to!” she said, voice rising an octave. 

He moved to slip the ring on her finger, but she quickly snatched the offending piece of jewelry away from him. “I don’t think so, Patrick. I’m perfectly capable of putting on my own fake wedding ring, thank you very much.” 

“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug. “I’m going to look around.” 

“Sounds good. I think I’ll go unpack, and then we can go get some groceries and dinner.” 

Lisbon made her way up the stairs to the bedroom with her bag in hand. Unsurprisingly, there was only one bed, which was fine by her. She was the utmost professional, and as long as he didn’t try anything, she was perfectly okay with sharing a bed with him. Besides, the bed was huge so they likely wouldn’t even end up touching each other accidentally. 

She quickly claimed the left side of the bed, hoping that Jane would be okay with sleeping on the right side. Lisbon hung her shirts and jackets up on one side of the little closet and folded her pants and underwear in one of the dresser drawers. If Jane was annoyed with where she had chosen to leave her things, they could figure it out another time. She was not about to get all awkward about having to share a space with him. 

When she returned to the kitchen, Jane was casually flipping through channels on the TV. With a pang, she realized how domestic this seemed. 

“Ah, Lisbon, there you are!” he said, turning off the TV and regarding her with a gentle smile. 

“I hope you don’t mind, I put some of my things in the closet and the dresser. I figured there’s enough room in there for all of our clothes,” she said, sitting down at one of the barstools by the counter. 

“Excellent. Are you ready to go?” 

“Not exactly. We don’t even know what all we need to get.” 

“Meh, we’ll figure it out.” 

“I’d rather get it all written down now instead of having to go back to the store every couple of days because we forgot something,” she pointed out. 

“No need to write it down, you tell me what we need to get and I’ll just memorize the list.” 

“Show-off,” Lisbon muttered. 

He grinned. “At your service. I assume I’m going to be doing the cooking?” 

“And why do you think that?” she asked, her hands on her hips.

“Because every time I’m at your house, the only thing in your refrigerator is leftover takeout. And the lack of ingredients in any of your cupboards in addition to the empty boxes of protein bars that I saw in your recycling bin only lead me to believe that either you don’t enjoy cooking, or you aren’t good at it.” 

“You little snoop!” she accused jokingly. “When you hypnotized me that one time, did you really look through my entire apartment?” 

“Not your entire apartment,” he admitted. “Just downstairs.” 

He was right about the cooking though. Lisbon only wondered what else he could have discovered about her in the time he spent rifling through her things. 

“Okay, Jane,” she relented. “You got me. I really am terrible at cooking.” 

“So I guess that leaves it to me, then?” 

“Can you cook?” 

“As a matter of fact, yes,” he said proudly. “So I can cook for us on the nights we aren’t going out. Any idea of what you’d like?” 

“I’m not sure,” Lisbon admitted. She really was fairly easy-going when it came to food. “Surprise me?” 

“Perfect.” He was looking forward to cooking for her, even though he had told her once that he wouldn’t seduce her over a meal. “What else do we need to get?” 

“Anything we’ll need for breakfast and lunch, coffee, tea, some dish soap, laundry detergent, and fabric softener,” she rattled off. Her time had been spent practically by taking stock of what was missing from the house. 

“Got it,” Jane said, accentuating his point by tapping the side of his head playfully. “Ready to go?” 

The store was close to their house, making the discussion they had earlier about whether or not to shop in bulk rather useless, but nonetheless, Lisbon was happy that she had gotten her way. Jane refused to tell her what he was going to make for dinners, instead choosing to grab ingredients seemingly at random and throwing them in the cart. 

“Are you going to tell me what all this is for?” she had asked him after the first couple of spices and vegetables had made their way into the cart. 

“I seem to recall you asking me to surprise you?” he said innocently. “So that means no.” 

Because he was going to cook dinners for them, Lisbon decided they would just go with miscellaneous other foodstuffs for lunch and breakfast. They ended up getting bagels, various sandwich and salad ingredients, cereal, and eggs, the last one upon Jane’s request. 

“No no no, Lisbon, what are those for?” He asked when he saw her throw a box of protein bars in the cart. 

“They’re protein bars.” 

“I can see that. What are they for?” 

“Uh, to eat?” 

He picked up the box and examined it closely. “Okay, you can get these, but if I see you skipping lunch and eating one of these instead, I will sit you down and force you to eat real food. See, it says right here on the box, ‘not a meal substitute’.” 

“How did you know I usually skip lunch?” 

“It doesn’t take a mentalist to figure that out.” She leveled him with a glare. “Fine,” he relented. “You do realize your office has glass walls, right? As long as we’re living together, I’m going to make sure you eat right.” 

A chill went down Lisbon’s spine at the phrase ‘living together’. It sounded so comfortably intimate that she didn’t know what to think. 

“Does eating right mean no ice cream?” she pleaded. Ice cream was her favorite after a long day. 

He pretended to think about it. “I think ice cream is okay.” 

They made their way over to the frozen section where Jane quickly picked out his favorite flavor, vanilla. It took Lisbon a little longer to decide, but she eventually chose a carton of black raspberry with dark chocolate. Then, it was off to get her coffee and Jane’s tea. 

“Okay, why is this taking so long?” she asked after returning from getting the coffee to find Jane still choosing his tea. 

“Patience, Lisbon. Choosing the right tea takes time,” he said, examining another package. 

“Jane, you’ve opened almost every box on this shelf. Can you please just pick one so we can go?” 

“Choosing the right tea takes time,” he repeated. “And if I get the wrong one, I’m going to have to drag you back out here to get the right one, and you don’t want that, do you?” 

“I guess not,” she said, sighing. 

After about five more minutes, Jane had added several boxes of tea to their cart, claiming that one of them was bound to be right. She used the expense card to pay for their groceries, and it was getting late by the time they got back to the house. After they put all of the food away and had a quick dinner, Lisbon was exhausted and ready to go to sleep. 

“Hey, Jane?” 

“Yes?” 

“I think I’m going to head up and get ready for bed, okay? You can use the bathroom after me if you want,” she said, referring to the master bathroom which they would have to share for the next couple of days. 

“Sure. I think I’m going to stay down here and read for a while if you don’t mind. I’ll join you in a bit.” 

“Okay. Make sure to set the alarm system when you come up. Goodnight.” 

She had only gotten halfway up the stairs before he stopped her with a question. 

“Which side of the bed is mine?” 

Lisbon considered this. She had instinctively chosen the left side because it was the side she slept on at home, but maybe Jane wanted that side? 

“You have the right side if that’s okay,” she told him. 

“Perfect.” 

His smile was all the confirmation she needed. He wished her goodnight, and she left to put on pajamas, brush her teeth, and wash her face before wrapping herself tightly in the soft covers of the bed. She knew that she would have to share it with Jane, but it somehow made it easier knowing that they weren’t going to bed at the same time. 

There was something about the act of falling asleep next to someone, the unintentional intimacy of it all. You could go to bed one day as friends and wake up as lovers, brought together by late-night conversation and the shared comfort of a warm blanket. Maybe there was something about the way the emotion in the air felt so much more charged at night, something vulnerable and raw, making even the most emotionally guarded person suddenly bared to their companion. 

Whatever it was, Lisbon was suddenly glad Jane hadn’t joined her yet. She didn’t think she was quite ready for that level of commitment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus concludes our favorite duo's first day on the job. I hope you enjoyed this, I know I had fun writing it. Thanks so much for the positive reviews, they really make my day! See you in the next one!


	3. Look Before You Leap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi!
> 
> Thanks so much for the amazingly positive response to the first few chapters, I've really been having a great time writing this story and it's great to know that people enjoy reading it too! :) Without further ado...

Surprisingly enough, Lisbon slept the whole night through without waking up once. It was slightly reassuring to know that she wouldn’t be called out in the middle of the night or at ungodly hours of the morning because they had a case, so she took advantage of her time to sleep in. When she did wake, though, she rolled over to look at the clock and noticed that Jane wasn’t there. What was even odder was the fact that the sheets were still pulled up on his side and tucked under the pillow, and it didn’t look as if anyone had slept in it at all. Shrugging it off, she got up to take a shower, the strong scent of a promising cup of coffee wafting up from the kitchen. 

When Lisbon joined Jane in the kitchen, her hair still in wet curls from her shower, she noticed that he was wearing the same suit he had been wearing the day before. Not that she couldn’t have made a mistake, of course, most of his suits looked pretty similar anyway, but Lisbon knew for a fact that he only owned one with white pinstripes. 

“Good morning, Teresa,” he said, handing her a cup of coffee. 

“Morning.” She inhaled deeply as if absorbing the caffeine through the air instead of drinking it. “Thanks, this is really good.” 

“My pleasure. How did you sleep?” 

She pulled out one of the bar stools and sat down, coffee in hand. “Pretty good, actually. It’s nice to know that I don’t have to get up as early as I usually do. By the way, I noticed that your side of the bed was already made. Did you sleep at all?” 

“No, I was up most of the night. You know me, Lisbon, I’m practically nocturnal.” 

“Jane.” 

“What? This is a normal thing for me,” he protested. 

“You need to take better care of yourself,” she admonished. “I swear, it’s like you couldn’t care less about your wellbeing.” 

“Pot, meet kettle. You’re the one who’s the routine meal skipper.” 

“Don’t make this about me. You need to get more sleep.” 

He chuckled. “And I will. Tonight, I promise. After we get back from Albertsons.” 

“That’s tonight?” 

She had forgotten all about it. Agent Sanchez had sent them a schedule of the days that some of the White Bulls would be hanging around some of the local bars. The idea was to just be around when they were, flash some money around if necessary, and look as if they belonged to the high-class crowd. The best way to get on the inside was to get known, and the only way to do that was by purposefully going where the Bulls were sure to be. 

Albertsons was a high-end club towards inner-city Oakland, one that the Bulls had practically taken over as their own. According to intel, most of the gambling income made its way through there at one point or another, and it was the best place for leaders such as James Garrett to pick out new attendees. People who looked like they had money and influence had the best chance of getting in. 

“Yes, that’s tonight,” Jane said condescendingly.

“Don’t patronize me!” 

“I’m not patronizing you, I’m just reminding you,” he said gently. “And speaking of reminders, I made breakfast.” 

He got up and served her a plate of scrambled eggs, and spread cream cheese on a bagel for each of them. Lisbon wasn’t usually a breakfast person, instead choosing to pick up a muffin of some sort mid-morning, but Jane had been so considerate, making her coffee and breakfast that she gave in. Her instincts were right, too, it was delicious. 

After they had eaten and cleaned up the kitchen, Jane had gone to take a shower and get ready while Lisbon stayed downstairs rereading the White Bulls file. Technically, the only part that was her case was the double homicide, but she wanted to know everything she could about these guys before they went on the inside. 

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. 

It was a text from Van Pelt that read, “Hey, boss, I just pulled up. For cover’s sake, meet me out at the car and act like I’m your sister. No one’s watching the house that we know of, but it’s best to put on a front for the neighbors.” 

Lisbon shot back a response before getting up and heading out to meet Grace. 

“Teresa!” Grace cried, the name feeling unfamiliar on her lips. 

“Hey, Grace,” Lisbon replied, walking over and hugging the redhead. “How are you guys managing without us?” 

“Oh, we’re fine,” Van Pelt said. “It’s only been a day. And besides, no new cases have come in so you haven’t missed much.” 

“That’s good. I know you can’t stay long, but let’s go inside, I’m sure Jane will want to say hi.” 

Lisbon led Van Pelt in the house and showed her around the downstairs. Grace thought it was particularly funny that they had gone out grocery shopping already, and laughed even harder when Lisbon explained that it was mostly because Jane wanted to stock the house with tea. 

“It’s a really cute house, boss,” she said after they finished the tour. 

“Yeah. I actually kind of like it here. You know, aside from the whole being-fake-married-to-Jane thing,” Lisbon admitted. 

It was then that Grace noticed the gold band glinting off of Lisbon’s left hand. “Wow, they even made you do the wedding ring gambit? That’s intense.” 

Lisbon thought back to when she first told Jane that they had to wear wedding rings. “Yeah, it was intense, especially for Jane.” 

“Is he okay?” Grace asked sympathetically. “You know, with the whole ring situation?” 

“He didn’t take his off. We figured no one’s going to be looking close enough anyway, and besides, they look pretty similar. I didn’t want to force him to take it off if he’s not ready.” 

She smiled. Of course Lisbon would be considerate enough to think of that. 

“And tonight we have to go to Albertsons and look as if we belong there. As a married couple, no less,” Lisbon finished. 

“Boss, it’ll be fine. You have to stop thinking of it as work and just have fun. Stay alert, but enjoy yourself. If you look comfortable, you won’t stand out as much.” 

“Enjoy myself?” she repeated incredulously. 

“Yeah, think of it like...a date. Imagine like you’re going on a date with him. Have some fun, flirt with Jane, do what you need to do to get noticed by James Garrett. As soon as you get an invitation to a fight, your job for the day is over. You don’t have to be Agent Lisbon right now, you just get to be Teresa. I mean it, you need to let yourself go sometimes.” 

A blush crept over Lisbon’s face. “Grace, I don’t know the first thing about flirting with guys.” 

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” 

They were interrupted by footsteps on the stairs. Jane, looking clean and put together, headed down the steps towards them, finishing the last button on his vest. He looked at the two of them with a warm expression and a twinkle in his eye, and Lisbon couldn’t stop herself from noticing the still slightly damp curls framing his face. As much as she would deny gazing at Patrick Jane, she was a woman after all. Sometimes she couldn’t help it. 

“Grace! Lovely to see you, I didn’t know you were stopping by today,” Jane said, going straight to the kitchen. 

“You would if you looked at the damn schedule,” Lisbon muttered. “They’ve got this whole operation planned out to the letter.” 

“Excellent, I love a good plan,” Jane said, ignoring the snarky comment. 

“I can’t stay long, but I dropped by to update you on the mission tonight and check up on the security cameras,” Van Pelt explained. 

“That’s nice, but don’t you want a cup of tea first? We have plenty,” he said. 

“Sure.” 

He ended up making a cup of tea for each of them, ensuring that Lisbon got the fruity kind she liked so much. Jane was never much one for herbal tea, claiming that it tasted too flowery and sweet, but he knew Lisbon enjoyed it so he picked up a box when they were at the store. Grace opted for black tea, so Jane made two cups of that. 

“So tell me Grace, how is the team managing without us?” he asked, once they had sat down on the couch. 

Van Pelt smirked. It was almost the exact thing Lisbon had asked her earlier. “We’re doing fine, missing you both though. It feels weird to not hear Lisbon yelling at you.” 

“I’m still doing the yelling, you’re just too far away to hear it,” Lisbon joked. 

“Trust me, she wouldn’t give up an excuse to yell at me. I thought things were about to go down in the grocery store last night when she was trying to rush me through picking out tea.” 

“Oh, hush. I was tired and you insisted on spending fifteen freaking minutes staring at boxes of tea.” 

“It was not fifteen minutes,” he protested. “Maybe ten, but that’s generous.” 

“Same difference.”

“No, it’s not!” 

Grace shook her head. Regardless of where they were located, they were still the same Jane and Lisbon. It seemed to her that adding in the fact that they were supposed to be pretending to be married only heightened the banter already present in their working relationship. 

“You can’t rush tea,” Grace said, intervening as the argument started to get out of hand. 

Lisbon stared at her and mouthed ‘traitor’. 

Jane cleaned out their now empty teacups as Lisbon and Van Pelt went to go check on all of the security cameras. She had to make sure that there weren’t any blind spots on the outside of the house and didn’t exactly trust the job that the security company had done. After all, no kind of security compares to law enforcement security. 

After checking the cameras, Grace showed Lisbon how to set up the system so that the view from any of the cameras could be seen from her laptop. Van Pelt had them synced to her phone and her work computer, just so she could keep an eye on the house at all times. It made sense that they were keeping such close watch over the house, but to Lisbon’s knowledge, none of the victims were killed at home. But, she supposed, it couldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of eyes and ears on the place. 

Before long, Grace said her goodbyes, hugging both Jane and Lisbon and heading back to her car for the drive back to Sacramento. After she left, Lisbon became fully aware of the fact that she was going to be stuck with Jane for the rest of that day and the next, because the next team member on the rotation wouldn’t be visiting for two days. 

Without something to do, Jane was bored out of his mind. Lisbon had been working on miscellaneous tasks from old cases, mostly paperwork and responding to emails, and hadn’t been paying much attention to him. After about three hours of her working and ignoring him, he decided enough was enough. 

“Lisbon?” 

“What do you want, Jane?” she called from her work station at the kitchen table. 

“Are you done working yet?” 

“Not exactly. This is supposed to be my time to catch up on work.” 

“Do you want to watch a movie with me?” 

“A movie?” she asked skeptically. 

“Yeah, you know, moving pictures.” 

“I know what movies are, Jane,” she said, exasperated. She considered taking a break, at the rate she was going, she would be done by the end of the day. Might as well take a break now and just finish it tomorrow. “Sure, I’ll watch a movie with you. What were you thinking?” 

He scooted over so she had enough room to sit on the couch with him. “I like movies with a plot. Action is fine, as long as it has a story and isn’t just a shootout for two hours.” 

“Okay, that sounds good. What movies get the Jane seal of approval?” she asked. 

“Oh, I don’t know. What kinds of movies do you like?” 

“It has to have action. You don’t want me falling asleep, do you?” 

He shook his head. 

“Okay, so action of some sort,” Lisbon continued. “Spy movies are great, I like ones with a bit of suspense.” 

“Like James Bond spy movies or like Ocean’s Eleven spy movies?” 

“Either is good, I guess.” 

“Lisbon, have you ever seen North by Northwest?” he asked. 

She considered that for a moment. “No, I don’t think so.” 

“Oh, Lisbon,” Jane said, disappointed. “I can’t believe that. We have to rectify this immediately, it’s a classic.” 

They had about three hours to kill before they had to leave for Albertsons, so Jane cued up the movie right away. He was right, Lisbon loved it. She was almost biting her nails at the Mount Rushmore scene, to no one’s surprise. Lisbon was one of those people who got thoroughly invested in a movie right up until the end. 

Jane had seen it a thousand times already, to the point where he almost had the damn thing memorized, so he ended up watching Lisbon more than the movie itself. She had curled up against the side of the couch, legs brought up to her chest. He studied the way her eyelashes fluttered and her eyes widened at a suspenseful part and the way that she watched with an interested gleam in her eye. It seemed she wasn’t joking about liking spy movies, because if her reactions were anything to go on, she took in every detail. 

After the movie was over, he turned off the TV and Lisbon stretched out lazily on the couch, tugging her shirt down when it rode up. 

“As much as I want to stay here all day, we should probably get ready to go,” Lisbon said apologetically. 

“You’re right.” 

“You okay? You seem a bit distant.” 

“I’m fine. Listen, I’ve been thinking,” he hesitated. “We’re going to have to go out tonight and put on a convincing performance, but you and I have never actually been together. I think the first time you and I kiss should not be in front of an audience, just in case.” 

“Okay, so we have to be physically affectionate as part of our cover. I don’t see what the big deal is, it’s not like we haven’t kissed other people before.” 

“But we’ve never kissed each other.” 

“So what are you suggesting?” Lisbon asked. 

“I’m suggesting that we practice before we go. This has to be right.” 

Lisbon realized with a pang that Jane probably hadn’t kissed anyone since, well, since Angela. They were both adults with different romantic histories, and in the grand scheme of things it probably wasn’t that big of a deal, but at that moment she would do anything she could to help alleviate his fears. If that was a practice kiss, then so be it. 

“Okay,” she agreed. “Let’s practice.” 

Much to her surprise, he pulled her towards him for a hug first, his hands splayed out across her lower back and forcing her body against his in a crushing embrace. Jane let out the breath he had been holding as her heart began to beat twice as fast. 

“Whatever happens this week, I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered in her ear. “Your friendship means too much to me, I don’t want it to fall apart over some stupid undercover mission.” 

“Nothing’s going to change,” she said, and as soon as the words passed her lips she knew it was a lie. As much as she tried, Lisbon couldn’t deny the feelings she had for Jane, and she could only hope that he felt the same way. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

Lisbon stifled a giggle, feeling for a moment like she was back in high school. “Yes.” 

He took a deep breath in a last-ditch attempt to calm his shaking hands as he cupped her chin, tilting her face towards him. Lisbon closed the distance between them, sealing her lips to his. For a moment, Jane was so shocked at being this affectionate with Lisbon that he forgot to reciprocate her kiss. 

Before long, she pulled away, blushing furiously. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-” she stammered. “I’m just going to go get ready, okay?” 

“Lisbon, wait.” He caught her by the wrist as she stood up to leave, spinning her to face him. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You just surprised me, that’s all. It’s been a while since I’ve been kissed, and I’m sorry if it wasn’t good for you. Can I try again?” 

She nodded mutely, and he touched his lips to hers gently, breaking away to make sure that she really was okay with it. When he saw the look in her eyes, he ducked back down to kiss her again, this time remembering to match her every move. 

When she dropped her hands from their defensive stance at her sides, he took the opportunity to gently hold her waist. When he wrapped his arms around her, she twined her arms around his neck, holding him closer. 

Breathlessly, he stepped back to admire her. The way her pulse quickened when his lips met hers. Dark locks spilled over her shoulders. Expressive, beautiful green eyes, and a light blush that crept up her neck and settled on her face. 

“Okay,” she whispered, never breaking eye contact with him. “I think we’ve got the whole kissing thing down.” 

“Perfect. Now let’s go get ready, with any luck this will be an interesting evening.” 

“If you do anything, I swear-” 

“Relax, Lisbon,” he said. “I’m not going to do anything bad. But you know what?” 

“What?” she asked skeptically. 

“We’re going to go and have a good time. For a while, we can forget about the mission as long as we look like we belong. So go put on that dress I know you’ve been dying to wear, and let’s go have some fun, shall we?” 

Lisbon turned beet red. “I have not been dying to wear that dress.” 

“Liar.” 

“Fine. I got the dress a couple of months ago, just haven’t had an excuse to wear it. That doesn’t mean I’ve been dying to wear it,” she said. 

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” Jane quipped. “Even the tough, badass Agent Lisbon has a more feminine side.” 

“Shut up!” she exclaimed, punching him in the shoulder. 

Jane was already prepared to leave, the three-piece suit he insisted on wearing daily served nicely as clothes to wear out. Lisbon, on the other hand, had been told that she needed to play it up a little bit and had been instructed to dress up for going out. They wanted to copy the last victims as much as possible, and if that meant forcing Lisbon to wear dresses, well, then that was what it would take. 

An hour later they were at Albertsons, pulling up in the parking lot. 

“You ready?” he asked. 

Lisbon nodded, self-consciously tugging her dress down to cover more of her legs. “Let’s do this.” 

He offered her his arm and kissed her lightly on the forehead, opening the door for the two of them. 

When Lisbon had been told that they were going to be infiltrating a gang, she did not expect this. She had been thinking much more along the lines of the rough-and-tumble bikers that they frequently encountered in their cases. But she had been dead wrong. 

The building was huge, the main floor serving as a cardroom with a main bar in the back. It was one of those places that technically shouldn’t be legal in the state of California but legally wasn’t a casino. 

Besides, half of these men probably have the money to sue the CBI for everything it owns, she thought to herself as she surveyed the room. 

Suddenly, Jane leaned in close and whispered to her, “Calm down. You look too much like a cop.” 

“I am a cop,” she hissed. 

“No need to advertise it. Just relax, smile a bit. You look lovely in that dress.” 

Lisbon had to force a smile as Jane lead her to the bar and ordered their drinks. “Loosen up, be playful. Try to match my energy, okay?” 

She frowned. “I don’t need your acting tips, Jane.” 

“Patrick. Here, it’s Patrick.” 

He handed her a glass of scotch. Lisbon decided to listen to his acting tips and she playfully smacked his shoulder and laughed. 

“How do you know what I drink?” 

“I’m observant. That bottle you think you’re hiding in your desk drawer gave it away.” 

A frown spread across her features. “How did you find it?”

“Really, Teresa? You think I’d be fooled by a couple of files thrown over the top of it?”

“No, I just assumed that as soon as you saw work you’d leave it alone,” she said, eyes sparkling dangerously. 

“Cute,” Jane grumbled, leaning in and kissing her. “Once you’re done, it’s time to head over to the tables.” 

She finished her drink and Jane lead her with one hand on her lower back over to one of the poker tables. 

“I’m Patrick, and this is my wife, Teresa,” he said to the dealer. “We’d like to play if you don’t mind.” 

“I’m sorry sir, the buy-in for this table is one thousand. But you can try one of the tables down there,” the man said, pointing to another group by the exit. 

Lisbon smiled flirtily. “I think we can swing it, don’t you, honey?” 

“Teresa, we-” 

She tugged on his arm. “Please, love?” 

His eyes widened at her insistence and he pulled a wad of cash out of his jacket pocket. “Here you go, sweetheart. Knock ‘em dead.” 

Jane took the opportunity to look around the room for people he recognized from his files. A man at one of the more expensive tables had a similar scar on his forehead to James Garrett, the man who gave out the invites to White Bulls fights. In fact, lots of the men who sat at the heads of the tables looked familiar, and he suspected they were all armed and dangerous. 

To Jane’s amusement, Lisbon won the hand. She was a much better player than she let on, employing the fake tell to her benefit. They decided to use the winnings to buy in at a more expensive table, and he led her over to James Garrett. 

“Hello there,” Jane said, shaking the man’s hand. “I’m Patrick, and this is Teresa.” 

“James Garrett,” he said, taking a drag off his cigar. “You looking to play?” 

Lisbon giggled and clung to Jane’s arm. “Looking to win.” 

“Bold words, little lady.” 

Jane saw a flash of anger run across her face, quickly concealed by her cover persona. 

“My wife here loves the games,” Jane explained. “Can’t get enough of ‘em.” 

The game started and Lisbon became solely focused on working with the cards in her hand. Garrett was playing as well, but he took the time to effectively study Jane up and down. Jane got the feeling that Garrett was sizing him up. 

Lisbon won the hand again, and Garrett fixed her with a gaze of admiration. “Well played, young lady. I’m impressed.” 

Lisbon grinned and kissed Jane on the cheek. “We won again, love! I want to celebrate! Please, won’t you join us for a drink?” she asked, beckoning to Garrett. 

“Why not?” the man said, stubbing out his cigar. 

They made their way over to the bar again, Jane with his arm slung around Lisbon’s waist. Jane realized that now was the time to make a move if he was going to at all tonight. He figured that they were close enough to Garrett at this point to bring something up about gambling. The original plan didn’t include them coming back to Albertson’s the next night, so it was now or never. 

“Deep pockets you got there, son,” Garrett said of Jane once they had ordered their drinks. He had gotten a glass of the best whiskey they had. 

“Yes, well, my wife’s quite the thrill-seeker, aren’t you Teresa?” Jane said, pulling her in for a kiss. “This is one of the places where you can have the most fun around here.” 

“What do you do for a living, Mr. Garrett?” Lisbon asked. 

“I’m a communications liaison for a couple of local businesses. I oversee the corporations and stock exchanges. And you?” 

“Oh, I’m an administrative assistant and my husband is a psychologist,” Lisbon said. They had talked about this beforehand and decided on cover jobs in case anyone asked. At first, Jane had complained about being a fake psychologist, but it was easier to explain that than to have to explain why he could read people so well. 

“A psychologist, eh Patrick?” Garrett asked, clapping Jane on the shoulder. “What do you know about me?” 

Lisbon noticed the mischievous glint in Jane’s eye. 

“Well,” he began. “I know you’re more powerful than you’re letting on. It wouldn’t surprise me if this cardroom was one of the businesses you work for. In your career, you call all the shots, and no one dares to oppose you. You act more commanding than you actually are, and people fear you because of the influence you have. On a more personal level, I would say you suffer from delusions of grandeur, maybe stemming from some sort of trauma as a child. Perhaps you lost a parent? No, not lost. A parent left you. Am I close?” 

The man chuckled. “Unbelievably close.” 

Lisbon let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Thankfully Jane had been able to restrain himself and not offend anyone. 

“Ah. You’re a very private person, Mr. Garrett, I’ll give you that. But I’ll leave you with one thing. When you were playing poker earlier, I noticed your tell. Before a bluff, your breathing hitches up and you move faster than you do when playing a normal hand. It’ll be much more convincing if you employ a fake tell, such as a touch to one earlobe. If the other players are distracted by your fake tell, they won’t notice the breathing.” 

“Patrick, I don’t know how you do it. It’s been wonderful to meet you,” Garrett said, standing up. He moved to kiss Lisbon’s hand. “And you too, Teresa. Will I see you around here again?”

“You might,” Jane hedged. “Wherever the fun goes, we’ll follow. You don’t happen to know any other cardrooms around here, do you?” 

Garrett looked Jane up and down, his gaze finally settling on his face. “Tell you what, if it's thrills you’re looking for, Teresa, I might be able to help you. There’s nothing more exciting than gambling on a fight, am I correct?”

“A fight?” she asked, hating how her voice sounded. “How barbaric.” 

“Oh, it is,” Garrett assured her. “And just the place to win big, if you know what I mean. Place your money right and you can go home a winner too.” 

“Doesn’t it sound exciting, Patrick? Can we go?” 

“Of course, my love. Where can we find these fights? I assume it’s kept on the down-low,” Jane said. 

He handed Jane a business card. “Call this number, tell them James Garrett sent you. They’ll provide you with the date and location of the next fight.” 

“Excellent.” Jane shook his hand. “Mr. Garrett, it’s been a pleasure. Good luck in your next poker game.” 

_

When they got back to the house, Lisbon was slightly buzzed and giddy with excitement. 

“Patrick, that was incredible!” Lisbon exclaimed, perching on one of the kitchen counters. 

“My dear, you were incredible. As soon as you loosened up it was like you were a different person.” 

“Is it bad that I felt like a different person?” she asked. “Not like Lisbon, but getting into the character of Teresa? It’s stupid because I am Teresa, but you know what I mean. Oh god, I’m babbling.” 

He handed her a glass of water. “Drink this. And no, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. It’s good that you’re comfortable with the role you have to play. By the way, I didn’t make you uncomfortable by touching you so much, did I?” 

“Not at all,” she said. At first, it had been odd how much he was touching her, but it felt good. If she couldn’t have him any other way, at least she could have this. 

“It’s getting late,” he said, looking at his watch. “You should probably get some sleep.” 

“Aren’t you going to sleep too?” 

“In a little bit,” he reassured her. “I’ll come up later, don’t worry about me.” 

If she was being honest, she was really too tired to give any more thought to that promise. Instead, she wished him goodnight and headed upstairs. After washing her face and brushing her teeth and hair, she grabbed her pajamas and slid under the covers, not wanting to wait up for Jane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! I really appreciate all the comments, they make my day!! Love y'all!


	4. The Devil is in the Details

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! 
> 
> Hope y'all are doing great! Today our favorite fake couple has some downtime to spend...

Lisbon woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and rolled over to look at the time. It was around three in the morning. Jane was missing, the covers pulled up to the pillow on his side of the bed. He had told her that he would try to get some sleep, but she decided that enough was enough. 

Lisbon decided to take matters into her own hands. 

She crept out of bed and padded down the stairs quietly, peeking over the banister so that she could see the living room. Sure enough, Jane was sitting up on the couch, drinking a cup of tea, and reading a book. 

“Jane?” she whispered. 

He looked up and noticed her standing on the steps. Her hair was ruffled and it looked as if she had just woken up. 

“Lisbon? Is everything okay?” 

“Mmhmm.” she rubbed one eye and tied up the waistband of her sweatpants. “I thought you said you were going to get some sleep.” 

“I will. I just got sidetracked.” 

Lisbon sighed deeply and made her way to the couch where he was sitting. “No more lying. You have to sleep, Jane. Come to bed.” 

Before she fully realized what she had said, her face was already a bright shade of red. Lisbon could blame the slip-up on any number of things, she was tired, she wasn’t fully awake, whatever she could think of, but it didn’t change the fact that both of them heard it. 

He raised an eyebrow. 

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that you need to get some sleep, in a real bed instead of a couch. You can finish your book later, right now is time to sleep.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him off the couch. 

When they had gotten up to the bedroom, he went into the bathroom to change. She was almost asleep when he got back, but he nudged her awake. 

“Lisbon, are you okay with this?” 

“With what?” she mumbled. 

“With me sleeping in the same bed as you.” 

“It’s fine,” she said quietly. “We’re just sleeping, and you need the rest. Stop worrying about me and go to sleep.” 

Eventually, he gave in and climbed under the covers next to her, falling asleep to the sound of her even breathing. 

In that time, Jane learned something interesting. Lisbon was a subconscious cuddler. 

It made sense, he realized, she was always cold. Every time he handed her something, her hands were freezing and she usually wore a jacket when they went out. In his experience, people who run cold usually huddle together with another person to keep warm. He woke up around eight with an unfamiliar weight on him. Looking down, he noticed that Lisbon, who had gone to sleep on the other side of the bed, was now nestled between his arm and his side, curled like a cat into the empty space. She had an arm thrown over his chest and his legs crossed hers at the ankle. He found that he had put his own arm around her waist, pulling her close into him. 

Jane watched her for a little while, studying the gentle rise and fall of her chest and the way her lips were slightly parted. He shifted a bit to make sure that she was comfortable, but didn’t have the heart to get up like he originally planned. It was his fault that she didn’t get a full night’s sleep, after all. 

Jane knew there was some sort of unspoken rule between people, something no one usually addresses but everyone understands. When someone falls asleep on you, you don’t move. Even if you were planning on getting up, or desperately need food, you still don’t move because this kind of innocent intimacy doesn’t happen every day. Instead, you set aside your plans for as long as it takes for the other person to wake up on their own so that when they do wake up, they feel loved and appreciated. 

So he followed that rule and lay there, not moving, just thinking. 

Eventually, she stirred a little, brushing the hair out of her face and moving to sit up, but Jane held her in place. 

“Good morning, Lisbon. I take it you slept well,” he said. 

“Mmmmm,” she groaned. “After I went back to sleep, yes.” 

“Do I make a good pillow?” 

“What?” 

Lisbon sat up faster, suddenly realizing how close she was to Jane. Quickly, she untangled herself from his grasp.

“Oh my god. I fell asleep on you, didn’t I?” 

He grinned. “Not really on me. You kind of just cuddled up with me.” 

“Jane, I’m so sorry,” Lisbon said. “I didn’t mean to invade your space like that.” 

“Hey, it’s okay. As you said, we weren’t doing anything wrong, and you were probably just cold.”

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?” she asked, concern in her voice. 

“Not at all. You’re kind of like a weighted blanket. Or my own personal space heater. To be honest, I probably slept better last night than I have in a long time,” he admitted. 

Lisbon laughed. “Well, in that case, I’m happy to help. Although to be honest, I think Agent Walker would call that kind of thing less than professional.” 

“Seriously?” 

“What do you mean, seriously?” She frowned. 

“I mean you’re too focused on the job, Lisbon. You’ve got this week off, just enjoy it. I may not be your favorite person to spend your vacation with, but hey, I can do fun things with you if that’s what you want.” 

“We’re still working.” 

“Technically, yes,” he conceded. “But no one’s coming to visit today, and the only thing we have to do is call that number to get the location and time for the next fight, and make sure that Walker and Sanchez want us to go.” 

“I’m sure they will. They won’t want to give up the ruse yet.” 

“Okay. If nothing comes up at work, we can just hang out for today. But promise me you’ll remember to call that number! We don’t want to miss an opportunity to be at one of the fights,” Lisbon said. 

He tapped his forehead. “My mind is a fortress, remember?” 

“Right.” she leaned over and hugged him. “Thank you for letting me fall asleep on you.” 

Before he could say anything, she was out of the bed and headed for the kitchen, no doubt in search of a caffeine fix. He got up more slowly, noticing the spicy cinnamon scent that lingered on his clothes. Jane headed for the shower first, reluctant to rid himself of the scent of her shampoo. 

After a quick shower, he joined Lisbon in the kitchen, where she had made a fresh pot of coffee and a cup of tea for him. He frowned when he saw her sitting at the table, engrossed in something on her laptop. 

Brushing past her, he pretended to knock into it, slamming it shut. 

“Damn it, Jane!” she yelled, quickly putting her phone down and turning the computer back on. “Hold on Cho, I have to pull the file back up.” 

Jane gave her a sheepish grin as he realized she was helping the team with something. “Sorry,” he mouthed across the table.

She furrowed her brow and gave him one of those trademark Lisbon glares he had come to love so much. Lisbon lowered the phone from her ear and hit a button. “Okay, you’re on speakerphone now. Jane’s here too if you want his input.” 

“Did we get a case?” he asked. 

She nodded. 

“Hey, Jane. Boss, Van Pelt sent the files on the victim over to you, they should be showing up now,” Cho said curtly. 

Lisbon pulled up the files and zoomed in so Jane could see too. “Looks like our victim was found dead in her bathroom, not uncommon. What do we know about the family?” 

“She lives with her sister, moved out from her parents’ house a few months ago. The boyfriend claims he was out and was coming over for a visit when he found the body,” Cho reported. 

“Interesting. Keep digging, send me the recordings of the interviews. Hopefully, this will turn out to be an open and shut case,” Lisbon told him. 

“Will do. So you’ve managed not to kill Jane yet?” he asked. 

“‘Yet’ being the keyword,” she replied. “I thought he was a pain in the ass to work with, he’s even worse to live with.” 

“Come on, Lisbon, you can’t complain, I let you fall asleep on me last night so-” 

She scooped up the phone, lightning-fast, and brought it off speaker. “Okay, sorry Cho, we’ve got to go, bye!” 

Jane smirked. “Don’t want your colleagues to know you cuddled with me all night?” 

“It sounds so bad when you put it like that! Don’t you dare bring it up again.” 

“A threat! I like it when you get all authoritarian on me.” 

“I’m not joking.” 

“I know you aren’t,” he said seriously. “I just like to have a little fun with you, okay? You’re cute when you get mad. Like a little firecracker.” 

“Jane.” 

“Or a pocket rocket.” 

“Jane.” 

“Fiery, irascible, irate, exasperated-” 

“Shut up! Just shut up, Jane,” she yelled, burying her face in her hands. “First of all, I am not cute. I am not adorable when I am angry or at any other time. I am a respected law enforcement officer, my job is not to be cute!” 

He patted her shoulder sympathetically. “We can’t help what we are, Lisbon.” 

“Why do I even bother?” She stood up and stalked across the kitchen. “I’m going to take a shower. If Cho calls, you’re not allowed to answer.” 

“Aw, Lisbon. I’m degraded to phone duty?” he called after her. 

“For that comment, phone duty, and dishes duty!” 

Lisbon got under the scalding hot water still mad at Jane. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t heard it before, and she wasn’t really that mad, but he didn’t need to know that. To be honest, she was more embarrassed at the fact that Jane had mentioned the cuddling to Cho. Loss of respect from her team was the last thing she needed. 

Jane stayed in the kitchen, scrubbing dishes and cleaning the coffeepot and teapot for use later. For once, he decided to heed Lisbon’s order to stay downstairs, that is until he ran out of things to do. He had already washed the dishes and put everything away, wiped the table, and emptied the dishwasher. Jane idly wondered where he left his book, before realizing that he had it with him when he went up to bed last night. He checked the landing outside the bedroom as well as the nightstand, dresser, and closet in their room, but his novel was nowhere to be found. It occurred to him that the book was probably still in the bathroom, and he accidentally brought it with him when he went in to brush his teeth, so he resolved to get it and wait for Lisbon downstairs. 

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened. 

“What the hell, Jane?!” Lisbon screeched, clad in just a towel. “Get out!” 

“I’m sorry, I just-” 

“Out!” she growled, picking up a tube of toothpaste from her side of the bathroom counter and throwing it at him. “Get out now!” 

The toothpaste was quickly followed by a small tube of lotion, a soap bar, and a hairbrush, all whizzing by his head dangerously. Jane supposed that if she wanted to hit him, she would have, but all of the projectiles were slightly off-kilter. 

When two people who are used to living alone are suddenly forced to share a space, there are a lot of fumbles. One such faux pas is one roommate walking in on the other one. Because they were so used to each having their own space, Lisbon had forgotten to lock the door and Jane had forgotten to knock. 

Before she had time to send anything else flying his way, he turned tail and ran out of the room. To be honest, Jane wasn’t sure if he had ever run that fast before. He made it down the stairs, collapsing on the couch, trying to keep the embarrassment at bay. However, his brain had a different idea of how to spend that time. If asked, Jane would always say that his impeccable memory was a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it made it easier for him to play games with people and to solve cases, but on the other hand, when he actually wanted to forget something, whether for his sake or someone else’s, it wasn’t easy. 

This was one of those difficult times. He so badly wanted to forget the image of Lisbon’s body wrapped in that towel, to stop envisioning her toned legs and arms, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t as if the memory was unpleasant, quite the opposite, but he knew his best friend well enough to understand that she didn’t appreciate being on display in such a vulnerable way. 

Which is why, when she finally did come downstairs, she sat curled up on the opposite side of the couch from him. 

“So are we going to talk about what just happened?” Lisbon asked. 

He avoided her gaze. “I was only going to say I’m sorry. I forgot for a moment that I’m not living alone, and if my mistake made you uncomfortable, it’s the last thing I meant to do, I promise.” 

“It’s okay. I’m sorry I threw things at you, I just got embarrassed. I’m not used to people seeing that much of me, and I wasn’t expecting you to be right outside the bathroom.” 

Jane concurred with her statement. He didn’t think he had actually ever seen Lisbon in anything that didn’t cover most of her legs. So badly he wanted to take her into his arms, kiss her lips and cheeks and forehead and the tip of her nose, and tell her that she had no reason to be self-conscious. He wanted to be the one to hold her and tell her how beautiful she was, and how sorry he was that he had embarrassed her. 

But he couldn’t do that. It would mean tearing down all of the walls that he had worked so hard to build, the impenetrable fortress that he had placed himself inside, only accessible to those who knew the inner workings of his mind. 

Instead, he said, “Lisbon, I’ve lived alone for a long time now, and I’m just not used to having to share a house with someone else. We didn’t discuss this before, but maybe we should set some boundaries?”

“Boundaries are always good. What were you thinking?” 

“Well, we want to minimize incidents like this morning, right? So maybe when one of us is in the upstairs bathroom, the other has to stay downstairs?”

“Okay,” Lisbon nodded. “And if one of us can’t sleep, it’s okay to wake the other up, right? Just so that the other person can try to help if they need to talk about something?” 

Jane knew that she was not so subtly referring to him. 

“Sure,” he agreed. “If you have a hard time sleeping, don’t hesitate to wake me up.” 

“What about when we go out? We have to act more like a couple, and the ‘no touching’ boundary isn’t going to work there,” Lisbon pointed out. 

“Are you uncomfortable with me touching you?” 

“No! No, not like that, I just mean, well, I guess it’s just that it feels more out of place whenever we go out so my reactions are sharper than they would normally be. But everything you were doing yesterday is okay.” 

He pondered this. “What do you mean by ‘it feels out of place’?” 

“The only time you do things like that is when we’re acting. So when you do, I know it’s all fake and my reactions aren’t as genuine. That’s all.” 

He stood up and walked over to her. “So you mean it would take you by surprise if I were to do something like this?” 

Without any more warning, he leaned in and kissed her softly. Lisbon only had a moment to be surprised before her instincts took over and she wrapped her arms around him. She returned his kiss enthusiastically, before pulling back to breathe, dropping her arms from his shoulders. 

Immediately, her face went red. “Um, well, actually yeah, that was surprising,” she said stupidly. 

God, Teresa, she chided herself, say something intelligent for once!

Jane flashed her a million-dollar smile. “I hope it was good surprising.” 

“Uhm, yes?” It came out more like a question than an answer. 

Lisbon tried in vain to steel her thoughts, to not think about the ridges of muscle that she felt underneath his shirt. She tried so hard not to think about the delicious way he put his arms around her body when he kissed her, but most of all she tried not to dwell on the fact that he kissed her again, of his own volition, and she liked it. God, did she like it. 

He stood again. “Good. Maybe if we try to keep up the act at the house, it’ll look more authentic when we’re out and about.” 

All she could do was nod numbly.

“Oh, and Teresa?” he continued as he walked out, “Don’t worry about making me uncomfortable. As long as you’re okay, I’m okay.” 

Lisbon knew that logically she had things she needed to do, she had paperwork to fill out and forms to submit, but for a minute she just sat there in the recliner, not moving, just thinking. She couldn’t stop replaying the memory of Jane’s lips on hers, as odd as it had been. It had been a while since she had been with anyone romantically. Sure, she had the occasional night with a man, but nothing had ever amounted to anything more than that. But for some reason she couldn’t quite shake, this felt different. It felt as if all of her repressed feelings toward Jane had finally exploded. And although she wouldn’t admit it, she desperately wanted to know where all this would lead. 

_

By the time Lisbon composed herself again, briefly considering splashing some cold water on her face, she realized that through the events of the morning she had missed a lot of valuable work time. So she tried not to think about the fact that Jane had practically advised her to be more physically affectionate with him, and logged on to her laptop. 

Opening her inbox, she had about twenty missed emails from the team, detailing a development in an old case that had been escalated up to them from Sacramento PD. Looking over the details, it seemed like a fairly straightforward case, but the whole reason it had landed with them was that there was no DNA evidence found at the scene. 

“Hey, Jane?” she called to him from the kitchen table. “Can you come take a look at this please?” 

He pulled out a chair next to her as she brought up the preliminary reports from the scene. 

“That’s odd,” he remarked. “No DNA was found?” 

Lisbon shook her head. “The gun was wiped of prints. All evidence points to the husband, but he has a solid alibi.” 

“It’s him,” Jane confirmed after watching the interrogation video. “I’m sure of it.” 

“Yeah, well, his alibi is unbreakable.”

“Not when you apply the right force. Send our opinions back to the team, tell them to keep questioning suspects. Something will come up.” 

Lisbon sighed. “And if you’re wrong?” 

“I’m not wrong. We just have to figure out the tiny detail he didn’t cover up.” 

So Lisbon replied to the emails with her and Jane’s take on the case, and an order to keep talking to suspects until something came up. Her message included a request for the interrogation videos, and to keep them in the loop unless something came up. Not long after she sent the email, her phone lit up with a text from Grace. 

It read, “Hey boss, we’re going to keep working the case. Rigsby and Cho are taking a look at the scene again, seeing if Sac PD missed anything the first time. How’s everything going over there?” 

“Everything’s fine,” Lisbon lied. She typed back another quick message. “I’ve gotta go though, Jane’s about to call the number we were given and I want to record it to send over to Sanchez and Walker. Talk later.” 

Jane came back with the business card, phone in hand. “You ready?” 

Lisbon pulled up the audio recorder on her phone. “Go for it.” 

Jane dialed the number, and it rang a few times before answering with a robotic voice on the other end. It asked for his name and card number, which Jane supplied quickly, and the line shifted quickly to another automated voice, this one slightly less artificial sounding. 

“Mr. Jane,” it said, putting an emphasis on his name. “Sunday, November 14. 4003 Rampart Street, Warehouse District.” The line clicked and went dead. 

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Lisbon said sullenly as she stopped the recorder. “I was expecting something a little less anonymous. At least it’s tomorrow, and we don’t have to wait.” 

“But it makes sense,” he argued. “Even if we had Van Pelt trace the line, it wouldn’t go anywhere. That’s why it’s all automated.” 

Lisbon texted the address to Sanchez and Walker before turning her phone off. “I guess.” 

“And now, on to the more important things. What do you want for dinner?” 

“Um, I don’t know. What were you thinking?” 

“Is pasta okay with you? If you’d rather something else, then I can-” 

“Pasta’s fine,” she said. “I’m looking forward to trying it. You seem to know your way around the kitchen.” 

As he cooked, Lisbon sat on one of the barstools and watched him prepare chicken and noodles. He even made his own sort of sauce, with crushed tomatoes, olive oil, red pepper, basil, and a ton of other herbs that she probably couldn’t even identify if she tried. 

He really was going all out for this, she thought to herself. 

At some point, she moved to turn on the radio and hummed along to one of the songs that came on. A look of disgust ran across Jane’s face. 

“You like this stuff?” he asked incredulously. 

“It’s not bad music,” she argued. 

“But you’re a Spice Girls fan.” 

“How the hell do you know that?” 

“You told me. When I hypnotized you.” 

She turned red. “I told you that?” 

“Well, I asked, you just confirmed it. Simple, ask and you shall receive,” Jane said, waving a spoon in her face. 

Lisbon was about to continue the music argument, but the radio switched over to Livin’ on a Prayer, a song they both loved, and she watched as he danced goofily around the kitchen, adding something of this or that to one of the pans he had on the stove. Before long, the food was ready, and because it was getting late, they ate quickly. 

“Jane, this is delicious,” she said after trying the pasta. “Where did you learn to cook like this?” 

“When you have a talent for memorization, remembering the recipes to various dishes is easy. The hardest part is actually preparing them, a technique I have mastered over the years,” he joked. 

“I’m going to hire you as my personal chef,” Lisbon said. “Even if it means I have to spend more time with you outside of work, at least I’ll be rewarded with good food.” 

“Careful,” he said. “I come with a hefty price tag.” 

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” 

He pretended to think it over. “For tonight? A kiss will be payment enough for this meal.” 

Lisbon smiled. “Fine.” 

They cleaned up the dishes, and Lisbon made sure to give Jane a kiss in return for the lovely food. Because it was late evening by the time they had finished chatting, Lisbon decided to retire to bed early. Jane followed not too far behind, waiting until she had left the bathroom and climbed into bed before changing into his pajamas and joining her. All the necessary precautions to make sure he didn’t walk in on her again. 

Lisbon rolled over sleepily as she felt the other side of the bed dip. “Goodnight, Jane. Thanks for dinner.” 

“Goodnight, Teresa. You’re welcome.” 

His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was that if he got this reaction all the time from cooking for her, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to be her personal chef.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I know tomorrow is Thanksgiving for everyone in America, so I'll likely be posting either really early in the morning or later at night. After that, the posting schedule should be back to normal times! Thanks, and have a happy Thanksgiving!


	5. You Catch More Flies With Honey Than Vinegar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! I hope you have gotten to spend some quality time hanging with family (if it's safe), both natural and found today. I know I have so much to be thankful for this year, even if it's been tough. Y'all are the best, and I hope you enjoy this one!

Lisbon woke up the next morning with a familiar pair of arms wrapped tightly around her. Upon closer inspection, Jane was practically holding her like someone would a soft blanket or pillow. It was rather late in the morning, they had overslept the alarm, and Lisbon was rearing to get going for the day, but it felt so nice and warm to be held by Jane that she stayed in bed a little while longer. 

Jane woke up pretty soon after that, quickly scooting away from her. 

“Good morning,” she said. “I see you slept well.” 

“I did,” he edged. “In all fairness, when I woke up last night I was freezing because you had stolen the blankets.” 

“So your solution was to spoon me?” 

“It worked, didn’t it?” 

She exhaled quietly. It had worked, just probably not in the way he had intended. All too quickly her feelings for him were coming to light, through no fault of her own. His kind gestures and playful interactions over the course of this op so far had Lisbon at her wit's end, mostly because she wasn’t used to this kind of attention from him, or from any man for that matter. It had been a long time since she had been with anyone, and he was a good kisser and a good cuddler...and he was her best friend. 

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, noticing the look on her face. 

Lisbon shook her head. “You didn’t. Jane, it’s like I said yesterday. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine with you touching me.” 

She kept to herself the part about how much she enjoyed when he held her. 

“Okay. I just don’t want to think I’ve overstepped-” 

“You haven’t!” she blurted, a little more forcefully than she meant to. “I mean, it’s been great. You know, having someone around to hug me,” she waved a hand around. “Or whatever. It’s just been nice.” 

“You don’t strike me as the kind of woman who enjoys hugs.” 

“Usually, I’m not. From the right people, yes. But I can also tell that you are very much a physical contact kind of person, and I respect that.” 

He ran his fingers through his blonde curls, making the front look even more disheveled and adorable. “I will say that my insomnia hasn’t been quite as bad this week.” 

Both of them knew the significance of his admission, but neither of them said it out loud. Lisbon knew well that Jane was plagued by horrible nightmares after what had happened to his family, and that not wanting to go to sleep for fear of the dreams had led to some serious sleep issues. He hadn’t told her much about it the first time they met, but as she got to know him she understood the kind of anxieties he was facing. They never talked about it, but she knew that the reason he was constantly asleep in the bullpen was that he didn’t sleep at night, and the dreams weren’t as bad when there were other people around. 

“What do you think is helping?” she asked quietly. 

“You.” 

Her pulse quickened so fast that she was almost sure that Jane could hear it. 

Lisbon’s voice raised an octave. “Me? How?”

“Because you’re constant. Steady. I can listen to the rhythm of your breathing and count beats in and out, like a metronome, until I fall asleep. And you’re warm, and I think the act of holding someone is relaxing,” he explained. 

He didn’t mention the part about how it was a trait specific only to her- she really did have a calming effect on him. 

“You’re sweet,” she said, leaning forward and pulling him in for a hug. “I’m glad I’m able to help.” 

They stayed that way for longer than was strictly necessary, Lisbon tucking her head into the space between his head and his shoulder. Both of them recognized that they had crossed a line somewhere in all this, leaped over some sort of personal and professional without any regard for what lay ahead. It definitely meant something more, even if they only decided to interpret it as friendship for now. 

“I need coffee,” Lisbon groaned into his shoulder, “C’mon.” 

She half dragged him through the kitchen where his hands went through the motions of making his morning cup of tea, but his thoughts were concentrated on her. The graceful slope of her neck as she rummaged through the cabinets, looking for coffee. The brunette waterfall of her hair falling into place over her shoulders. Jane forced himself to look away. He was becoming obsessed. 

Inhaling the sharp scent of coffee, she sat down across from him at the table. 

“Any plans for today?” she asked jokingly, a perfect picture of domesticity. 

“Oh, a few. One involving the two of us infiltrating a gang fight,” he replied loftily. “No big deal.” 

Lisbon laughed loudly. “Okay, mister, very funny. Aren’t you the least bit nervous something will go wrong?” 

“I’m always nervous. But with that acting bit you put on the other night, I’m sure it’ll all go fine.” 

“As long as you don’t give me any more acting tips. Seriously, I can do fine on my own. I’ve had some theatrical experience.” 

Jane raised an eyebrow. This was news to him. “Oh really? When?” 

“High school.” 

“Teresa Lisbon! You’ve been holding out on me,” Jane accused. “I had no idea you were an actress!” 

“I wasn’t, not really,” she admitted. “I had to take two art courses in high school, and I chose performing arts and band over visual art. I can’t even draw a proportionate stick figure.” 

“Well, what show were you in?” 

“The Crucible. It was our fall production in my sophomore year.” 

He chuckled. “Arthur Miller, right? It’s about the Salem Witch Trials?” 

“Yup,” she confirmed. “I played Mary Warren.” 

“Aha! The one who was ‘possessed’ by the devil. An interesting choice.” 

“I didn’t choose it!” Lisbon protested. “It was for a class, we had to audition. It was fun, but it was altogether too much memorization for me.” 

“Mmm. So that’s why it seemed like you were suddenly taken over by another person, it was just that flair for the dramatic that I know you have in you. No need to be shy about it, really Lisbon, you got the point across quite well,” Jane said. 

“Thank you. But if anyone has a flair for the dramatic, it’s you.” 

“That’s showbiz, baby!” 

“Don’t ever say that again,” Lisbon said, burying her face in her hands and shaking with the effort of trying not to laugh. 

“Am I wrong?” he asked innocently. “That’s what this entire operation is, isn’t it?” 

“Oh, hush. I don’t want to hear it from you,” she said teasingly as she rinsed out her coffee cup. “Don’t forget, Cho’s coming by later to run over the plan again, and I’d like to go for a run before he gets here.” 

“You go ahead. I’m perfectly fine where I am.” 

Lisbon brushed her hair out of her face. “Do you ever get any exercise?” 

“Me? I get enough. When I want to,” he said airily. “I bet I’m stronger than you think I am.” 

“And I bet I’m stronger than you,” she retorted. 

“I know you are. It’s always amazing to me how you’re able to take down perps twice your size.” 

Without warning, she dramatically draped herself over the counter, arching backward with the back of her hand flat on her forehead. It was the perfect picture of a forties drama, if only Jane could see in black and white.

“He dares insult the vertically challenged! Mr. Jane will be tried for his crimes! This is slander, I tell you!” Lisbon cried in an odd attempt at a transatlantic accent. 

Jane stood and applauded. “Well done, Lisbon! Five-star acting!” 

“Thank you. Do you think I should try the accent when we go out tonight?” she joked. 

“Absolutely not.” 

_

Lisbon changed into leggings and a tank top, tying up the laces of her running shoes and stretching out her legs and ankles. She knew from experience that forgetting to stretch first would bring nothing but pain. Jane sat at the table, pretending to be engrossed in his novel, as he watched Lisbon methodically work the knots out of her calves and thighs. When she decided she was ready to go, she slipped her phone into her pocket and turned up the volume on her earbuds. 

She hadn’t gone running since the op had started, mainly to give herself a break, but also because she didn’t have anything pressing that she needed relief from. The repetitive motion of running had always brought a sort of relaxing calm to her, clearing the fog from her mind. Only this morning had Lisbon realized that she was stressed about something and that something was no other than the attention of one Patrick Jane. 

As a new song started, she picked up her pace a bit, replaying the events of the morning in her head. Not for the first time, she had woken up with his arms wrapped around her. Some would say it was an accident, but she knew that Patrick Jane did not make those kinds of mistakes. Every time he touched her it was deliberate, it always had been. 

But they had become reckless, falling too easily into this lie of a marriage. Lisbon had to remind herself multiple times a day that it was all an act, a long con meant to lure out dangerous killers. And yet, she also found herself preoccupied with his furtive glances, his meaningful touches, and teasing. Lisbon knew there hadn’t been anyone serious in his life since Angela, and she wasn’t sure if he was trying to tell her something. 

Three and a half miles and thirty minutes later, Lisbon arrived back at the house, endorphins coursing through her body. 

“You look exhausted,” Jane commented as she filled a glass with ice water. 

“It’s a good exhaustion.” A long drink of water. “Running is good for you. They say it helps you to not be an angry person.” 

Jane smirked. “I’d rather be madder than two cats fighting to get out of a bag than go for a run.” 

“Oh really?” Lisbon put her hands on her hips. “What do you prefer to do for exercise then, huh?” 

“Swimming. If it’s repetition you’re looking for, swimming is much more enjoyable than running.” 

“Some of us don’t have pools we can go to, Jane.” 

“I’m sure there are rec centers near your house.” 

“It’s easier for me to go for a run for free than to pay for a membership to swim a few times a week,” she explained. “And speaking of water, I’m going to go take a shower.” 

Jane watched her climb the stairs until she had gone and released a shaky breath. It had taken everything he had not to just confess his true feelings for her right then and there. There was something about living in close quarters with a person that made you realize how scared you were to lose them. 

Not too long after she left, the doorbell rang, signaling Cho’s arrival with the plan for the evening. 

“Jane,” he said curtly. 

“Hey, Cho. Lisbon’s upstairs, she’ll be back in a minute.” No sooner had he said it than Lisbon appeared on the stairs behind him. “Speak of the devil.” 

“Hey, boss. Did you get the email from Sanchez?” 

“Uh, no, not yet. I just got back from a run and I haven’t had a chance to look at my emails yet,” she explained, slightly embarrassed. 

“It’s fine. Jane? Did you see it?” Cho asked. 

He shrugged. “You of all people should know that I don’t use my laptop. I’m not an agent.” 

“Okay. In that case, don’t bother. I’ll brief you, and just tell Sanchez that we went over the plan.” Cho sat down heavily on an armchair in the living room. “Do you have the address? Have you mapped it?” 

“We did yesterday,” Lisbon said. “It’s about a half hour’s drive.” 

“Good. We’re guessing that you’ll have to provide an ID to get in. Because of that, Sanchez had this made up,” he passed what looked like an identification card to Jane. 

“Ah, this has the new address,” Jane observed. “Clever. That way, if they want to keep tabs on us, they know where we are.” 

“Exactly. You’re both okay with wearing wires, right?” 

Lisbon hesitated. “I thought we had said no wires. No listening devices.” 

“We did,” Cho confirmed. “But since we’re not looking to make a bust tonight, we’re trying to explore the connections between the White Bulls and other street gangs. So it makes more sense to have you wear a wire so that we can listen to see if any names are being dropped.” 

Jane did not miss the look of discomfort that passed over Lisbon’s face. “Cho, if you don’t mind, I think we’d like to go in without the microphones tonight. It’s going to be hard enough to keep the act up without CBI agents talking in our ears.” 

Cho frowned. 

“And besides, what if they frisk us?” Lisbon pointed out. “These people are violent, they won’t hesitate to act out if they discovered two of their new members were wearing wires.” 

“Okay,” he relented. “When I go back, I’ll tell Walker and Sanchez that we’re not listening in tonight.” 

Lisbon sat back in satisfaction. She had enough of her reputation at risk under normal circumstances, but she did not need other agents listening in on her acting all couply with Jane. There were enough rumors about the two of them going around the office as it was, and this would just be a final blow. 

“All we know right now is the basics of the plan. What exactly are we looking for?” Jane asked. 

“As of right now, the plan is for you to go and seem as inconspicuous as possible. Act like you belong, but you really need to get in with the higher-ups like you were talking to the last time. It’s important to listen for names of other gangs who might be affiliated with these guys,” Cho explained. 

“But what about the fight itself? We were invited to go and bet on it, don’t we need to do that to keep up the ruse?” 

“Yes,” Cho said slowly. “We had thought of that. Van Pelt suggested that we put a GPS tracking system into a briefcase of money, but we think that they’d catch on too quickly. We have trackers on your phones, so that’s at least one thing.” 

“And besides, you don’t bring physical money to one of these either. That’s what the betting slips are for. They figure you’re good for what you owe, or else you get killed,” Jane pointed out. “So that means that if we end up owing money, we can have it transferred from a fake account.” 

“And maybe keep tabs on the new account it goes to,” Lisbon finished. 

“Exactly. Keep the status quo, don’t look suspicious. You’re going to have to place a bet, but Jane, don’t do that thing you do where you con everyone out of their money. That’s going to get you in trouble.” 

“No promises,” Jane joked but was quickly shut up by Cho’s steely gaze. 

Jane rose to walk him to the door, but Cho stopped to face the two of them. “Good luck. Be smart, these are dangerous people.” And with that, he was gone. 

Lisbon flopped back down where she had been sitting. “Whew. it’s a lot to remember.” 

“I know.” 

“And it’ll be dangerous.” 

“I know.” 

“But if we get this right, we’ll be one step closer. By the way, thanks for backing me up about not wearing a wire,” she said. 

Jane laced her fingers with his. “Don’t worry about it. You looked pretty uncomfortable.” 

“Not uncomfortable because I’m embarrassed by you,” she said, eyes widening. “Uncomfortable because even though this is all an act, I’d rather keep it between us.” 

“I get it. Don’t want the office gossip to get worse?” 

Lisbon gaped. “You know about that?” 

He chuckled. “If you listen close enough, you start to hear things. Word travels fast.” 

“I guess I should ask,” she shook her head rather forcefully, chocolate waves bouncing over her shoulders. “Actually, I don’t think I want to know.” 

“It may be for the better, it may be for the worse,” he quipped. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard the chatter.” 

Lisbon’s blush spread from her cheekbones to the tip of her nose. “It’s not that I haven’t heard it, because trust me, I have, but more so that I try to ignore the talk. For my own sanity.” 

“Aw, Lisbon, it’s not all bad.” 

“Like what, exactly? What do they say that’s not so bad?” 

He leaned in conspiratorially. “I’ve heard some of the male agents say you’re the most beautiful woman in the bureau. On second thought, I think I’ve heard some of the female agents say that too.” 

“Jane. This is exactly why I try not to listen to all that gossip crap. Because it paints a certain picture of me that I would rather have defined by my work than by my attractiveness.” She looked at her watch. “I’m going to go get ready, okay? It’s alright if you come up, since I’m just doing my hair.” 

In the bathroom, Lisbon rifled through her toiletry bag for her curling iron. It was ancient, slow to heat up, and often went unused, stuffed into her bathroom closet at home. All that aside, she knew full well the kind of picture they would have to make, so she brought everything she needed to doll herself up as much as possible, against her will. 

She sighed in frustration. The switch wouldn’t stay on its own, so she held it in place as it warmed up. Jane perched on the rim of the tub, watching her as she fiddled with the buttons. 

“I take it that thing doesn’t get much use?” 

Lisbon frowned. “No, it doesn’t. I use my flatiron more than I use this old thing.” She tied a hairband around the switch to hold it for her. “I’m lucky, my hair curls on its own. Usually, the only thing I ever do to my hair is straighten it.” 

“But you want to curl it today?” he asked. “It looks curly enough to me already.” 

“That’s because I haven’t brushed it. See?” Lisbon walked over to him so that he could feel. 

Running the tips of his fingers through the waves, he marveled at how the curls wrapped around his hand. Jane had never touched her hair like that before, but he had always imagined it would be soft and silky. He was right. 

“So what are you planning on doing?” Jane almost wanted to tell her to leave it, that he liked the way it felt when it wasn’t brushed.

“I’m going to brush it out all the way and then curl it. That way, it’ll look nicer and won’t be as frizzy.” 

He watched as she ran the brush through her beautiful brown hair, concentrating first on the ends and working her way up to her scalp. For that, she grabbed a comb and gently parted it in the center so that the curls would be even. Lisbon separated it into two ponytails, Jane watching in fascination as she tied it up on one side, then pulled small groups of strands from the other, wrapping the tendrils around her curling iron. 

“How long does it usually take?” he asked out of sheer curiosity. It was ridiculous the way he was fascinated by it all. 

“It only takes about half an hour now. I had long hair in high school and middle school, and it took a lot more time because there was more to do. But since I cut it, it’s a lot more time-efficient,” she explained. “Besides, I don’t do this very often unless I’m dressing up for something.” 

“I’m glad I don’t have to do that,” Jane said. 

She leaned on the bathroom counter, another strand of hair wrapped around the iron. “I don’t know,” Lisbon said coyly. “Your hair is long enough to do something with.” 

“No!” He covered his head with his hands. “Back off, crazy woman! I’m not letting you anywhere near my head with that thing!” 

“Come on, Jane, haven’t you ever wanted to try something different with it? Not that I don’t like the curls, but I’m sure we could figure out something that looks nice.” 

“No! I’d rather do the same old same old, thank you very much. No new hairstyles for me.” 

Lisbon laughed loudly, filling the small room with music. “Whatever you say, Jane.” 

He watched as she finished curling her hair, the finished product still wild and free but more coiffed than before. Lisbon changed in the bathroom, donning a different dress and putting on a little bit of makeup. When Jane saw her after putting on his nicer suit he almost had the breath knocked out of him. 

“Lisbon, you look,” he hesitated to find a word that would accurately describe how she looked. “You look beautiful. Gorgeous.” 

“Thanks! You look nice too.” She turned in a full circle, the dark grey dress fitted nicely at the waist and flaring out at the hips. 

He offered her his arm. “Ready to go, my love?” 

Lisbon’s heart fluttered at the endearment, but she convinced herself that it was only part of the con. “Absolutely.” 

_

When they arrived at the set address, a bouncer dressed in gray directed them to a back lot invisible from the highway. He parked the car and took a steadying breath. 

“Are you ready?” he asked. 

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.” 

Reaching into his pocket, he asked her not to open the door yet. “I have a gift for you.” 

“Jane, what? I didn’t expect-” 

But she stopped when she saw what he pulled out of his pocket. It was that emerald necklace she remembered from years ago. The deep green stones sparkled as they were hit by the moonlight, projecting spots of light onto the ceiling of the car. 

“This is for you, Lisbon. Turn around, I’ll put it on you.” 

When it was clasped and settled into the hollow of her throat, she admired the centerpiece with a featherlight touch, moving the emerald necklace to rest just below her cross pendant. 

“I can’t believe you kept this,” she said, surprised but smiling. “It’s beautiful, but I really can’t accept it.” 

“Teresa, you have to keep it. It’s a gift.” 

“A really expensive one!” 

“Don’t be modest, it’s just the necklace, not the earrings. Besides, I always told you emeralds would look lovely with your eyes,” he said, admiring the pleased look on her face more than he admired the jewels. 

Lisbon touched it again and closed her fist over it before hugging him. “It’s beautiful. Really. Thank you for keeping it.” 

Jane whispered, “I’ll keep it until you’re ready to keep it.” 

_

When they got to the door, a bouncer asked for names and ID, checked them off the list, and stepped aside to let them enter. Once again they were surprised by the level of organization, a boxing ring set up in the center and the rest of the warehouse looking more like a formal bookkeeper’s shop. 

They were soon met by no one other than James Garret, who emphatically shook Jane’s hand and kissed the back of Lisbon’s. 

“Mr. Jane, Teresa,” he rumbled. “I’m so glad you came. I’ve been regaling everyone with the story of your wife’s skill at poker. Come, come, meet everyone!” 

He led them over to a table near the boxing ring. Seated around the table were several other older looking men in tailored suits. 

“Gentlemen, this is Patrick and Teresa Jane, the people I was just telling you about.” He turned to face Jane and Lisbon. “And these are our biggest patrons, Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Spencer, Miss Everett, and Mr. Blackwell.” 

Jane shook all of their hands before pulling out a chair for Teresa to sit in. “Lovely to meet you all.” 

Miss Everett leaned forward. “Charming,” she drawled. “I’ve heard about you,” she said directly to Lisbon, dragging a nail up her arm. “What’s your secret?” 

“I have none,” Teresa said, pulling her arm away to clasp hands with Jane. “Patrick and I just have money on our hands and are looking to have a little fun.” 

Another man frowned. “What exactly is it you two deal in?” 

Jane took this question, repeating the lie from the other night. “I’m a psychologist. My wife is an administrative assistant for a bigger corporation operating out of Sacramento.” 

Garrett took a sip of his whiskey, laughing loudly. “Show them that trick you did to me the other night!” 

“As interesting and revealing as that would be, would you mind me showing you a different trick?” Jane asked. 

Several murmurs of assent sounded from around the table. 

“Excellent.” He pulled out a scrap of paper from his jacket pocket as well as a pen. “Miss Everett, how many languages do you know?” 

“Three,” she replied. “English, Spanish, and French. Why?” 

Jane slid the paper and pen to her. “I want you to choose one of those languages and write one sentence in it, but don’t tell me what it is.” When she finished, he motioned for her to slide the paper to Spencer. “And you, sir, I want you to write the name of your great grandmother on the paper.” 

Jane continued to tell them to pass the paper around, instructing Lloyd to write the name of his high school, Blackwell to write down the name of his first pet, and Garrett to write the top five colors that popped into his head. 

“Now, I’d like Miss Everett to hold the list and check the accuracy of everything I’m saying. Heureux de vous avez ici, Lucille Margaret Spencer, Lincoln Academy, Bubbles, green, red, blue, yellow, and purple. Was I correct?” 

Everett’s eyes widened as she passed the paper to everyone to check. “All correct!” 

“Wonderfully done, Mr. Jane!” Blackwell cried, clapping him on the back. 

“Okay, everyone settle down!” Garrett boomed over the uproar. “The fight’s about to start, and I’ve provided quite the cannon tonight! Patrick, Teresa, have you placed your bets?”

“Not yet,” Lisbon said. “Lead the way.” 

He led them through crowds of people to get betting slips. “I hope you know how to pick a fighter, Teresa.” 

“I’m sure it’s not too hard,” Lisbon said, smiling dizzily. 

By the time they had placed their bets, the fighters were being escorted to the ring and people were moving from their seats to be closer to the action. Jane pulled Lisbon close. 

“This is going to be rough,” he murmured. “You okay?” 

“M’alright. Usually, I’m okay with this stuff, it’s just that these fighters clearly aren’t doing this of their own free will.” She watched as handcuffs were removed from one man. “It’s disgusting.” 

“I know.” He squeezed her hand. “You did put money on the underdog, right? We don’t need to draw attention to ourselves by actually winning.” 

“Don’t worry,” Lisbon reassured him. “The odds are totally against him.” 

But when the fight started, Lisbon realized that she had made a grave mistake. The underdog fighter threw punches with a kind of bitten back aggressiveness that could only come from years of fighting. He drew blood and the crowd went wild. Eventually, news got to Lisbon and Jane that they had accidentally won a huge sum of money. 

“Oh no,” she whispered. “Have I blown it?” 

“Shh. No one suspects a thing. Be gracious, give them the fake account number for a transfer. We just have to be more careful from here on out.” 

They were congratulated by Spencer, who shook Jane’s hand and said to Lisbon, “You sure know how to pick ‘em, little lady. How did you know?” 

“My money’s always on the underdog,” she replied patiently. “If you’ll excuse me, I think my husband and I are going to head home.” 

Spencer handed Jane another card, almost identical to the one they had gotten from Garrett. “Now that you’ve gotten a taste, I’m sure you’re in good. Be at the next one,” he said almost aggressively, quickly covering it up by looking at his watch. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight,” they echoed, walking to the car. 

It was very late by the time they got back, and Jane woke up a sleeping Lisbon in the passenger seat to guide her into the house. Tonight, there was no time for talking, they were both so exhausted that they could probably fall asleep standing up. Instead of staying up, they both immediately got ready for bed, collapsing into a deep and troubled sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the scene is set once more...hope you liked it! Thank you so much to each and every person who leaves a like or a review on this, it makes my whole day! Have a great one! <3


	6. Cabin Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! Thank you all so much for comments on the past couple of chapters, I'm so happy to hear that y'all are enjoying the story so far!! And in case you were wondering, yes, I promise this has a happy ending! ;)

  
The room was still dark when Lisbon awoke, wrapped once more in Jane’s warm embrace. Her legs and arms were sticky with sweat, the legs of her pajama pants rolled up practically to the knees. Disentangling herself from Jane’s sleeping form, she padded silently out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen. 

Lisbon tried to be as quiet as possible while searching for a cup and going through the motions of making tea so as not to wake Jane. She remembered their conversation, about how boundaries were important but also that they needed to be more open with each other, and how he had said that it was okay to wake him up if she needed to talk. At the moment, Lisbon didn’t know whether or not she wanted to talk or cry. Holding the piping hot cup with a white-knuckled grip, she lifted herself to sit on the counter, tucking her knees to her chest. 

Her heart was pounding, the chills a reminder of the anxieties nagging at the back of her mind. It was a problem that followed her often, her sleep plagued by memories and persistent nightmares of the past, present, and future. And it was because she was so preoccupied with trying to dissipate the pressure that had settled over her heart that she missed the creaking sound of the staircase behind her. 

Jane rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes, bleary-faced, and noticed that Lisbon had her back turned. It didn’t escape him that her shoulders were shaking and her breathing was audible, a clear sign of distress. He didn’t want to scare her, so instead of walking over, he stayed a safe distance away, calling to her from the steps. 

“Lisbon? Teresa? You okay?” 

Her form tightened as she registered his presence. “I’m fine, Jane. Go back to bed,” she said in a clipped tone. 

“No, you’re not. Can I come over there, please?” 

“Even if I say no, you’re going to do it anyway, right?” 

“Yes.” He crossed the kitchen in record time, not turning on any lights or doing anything that would overload her senses. Standing directly in front of her, he leaned against the counter she was perched on, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “Is this okay?” 

Lisbon relaxed into his touch. “Yes,” she murmured. 

“We don’t have to talk. But I’m here if you want to.” 

She nodded. 

“What’s this about?” 

Lisbon shook her head, the lump forming in her throat making it too difficult for her to respond. 

“Shh,” he whispered, never wavering, but shifting his hands to rub comforting circles into her back. “It’s okay. Let it all out, you’re safe.” 

Lisbon’s head was pillowed on his shoulder, and he could feel her lip quivering against his neck. Always trying to put on a brave face. “Hey. Teresa, look at me.” She wearily raised her head to face him. “You can cry. I’m not going to judge you or even ask you what’s wrong if you don’t want to tell me, okay?” 

Wordlessly, Lisbon moved so that she was surrounded by his embrace. Her body racked with sobs, the tiny gasps for air a clear cry for help. She was trembling, every inch of her shaking slightly as he hugged her. Jane had never seen her as vulnerable and open as she was now, her so carefully guarded mask slipped from her face. Tear tracks stained her face, making lines down her sun-kissed cheeks. 

It had been a long time since Jane had had to comfort anyone in this way, and never before had he been in a situation where the person needing comfort was Teresa Lisbon. It was touching in a way to see a woman who was so fiercely independent and fiery accepting hugs from him. Most of what he remembered of how to comfort someone was muscle memory, his arms extending out to hold her almost of their own accord. But the hushed whispers of sympathy and reassurance were completely and utterly him. 

Although her body was preoccupied with something akin to an anxiety attack, Lisbon tried to force her mind to focus on his words. They were repetitive, soothing, a mantra of love and calming. 

“I’ve got you. It’s okay. You don’t have to be afraid. Shh, everything’s going to be alright.” His sentences ran together, punctuating her sobbing with relief. 

After some time, her cries died down, leaving only the aftermath of her breakdown, shaking from head to toe. Lisbon’s nimble fingers brushed lightly at the tear stains she left on his shirt and she attempted in vain to dry her eyes. 

“I’m sorry, that was embarrassing,” she choked out. 

He pulled back to meet her beautiful green eyes, still shiny with tears. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s alright. Everyone has rough moments, Teresa, you don’t have to be afraid of it. It’s not embarrassing or wrong, it’s just a part of life. You should never feel ashamed of crying.” 

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I mean really, thank you. I don’t think I’ve ever cried in front of anyone before and the hugs helped.” 

“No need to thank me, Teresa, it’s what I’m here for. Do you want to talk?” 

She nodded, and he lifted her tiny frame off the counter and set her down on the couch. Jane promised her he’d be right back, and he ran up to their bedroom to grab one of the soft blankets off the bed. When he returned, he tucked it around Lisbon’s shoulders and sat down next to her. Unsatisfied with the distance, she scooted closer to him, ducking under his arm and forcing him to hold her close. 

“Lisbon, what’s wrong? I’ve never seen you like this.” 

“I’m an idiot,” she said. “A real idiot.” 

“You’re not,” he replied patiently. “What makes you say that?” 

“I screwed up tonight. Big time. They’re going to have people monitoring the house now. It wasn’t supposed to end like that, I wasn’t supposed to win. We might have to pull the plug on this entire operation and these horrible people will get away with it all. And it would be entirely my fault.” 

“It was a mistake,” he soothed. “The odds were against him. By the numbers, I didn’t think he had a chance to win either. And about the house, who cares? All we have to do is keep doing what we’ve been doing, nothing is going to change.” 

“And what have we been doing, Jane? Has this all been just us messing around as a means to an end?” 

He could tell that she wasn’t talking about the mission anymore. Jane knew well what his feelings were on the subject of Teresa Lisbon, but he kept his expression carefully controlled. 

“If I’ve made you uncomfortable or anxious in any way, Lisbon, I’m sorry about that. I never meant to hurt you.” 

“You didn’t hurt me. I think my mistake coupled with, um, what we saw tonight was enough to upset me.” 

He looked confused. They saw people beat each other up all the time, seeing much worse things on the job usually. How was a boxing match any different? 

Noting his look, she tried to explain. “I think that watching the fight, those poor men forced to fight each other against their will was what did it more than anything. I know it’s not as bad as anything we usually see, but when I see people forced to fight against someone bigger and stronger than them, and I can’t do anything to help, it just reminds me. Reminds me too much of my father.” 

At last, he understood. Jane knew about her dad, having read and memorized her personnel file when he was first starting out working for her. 

“Lisbon, I’m sorry. No one should have to go through that.” 

“It’s alright. I wouldn’t be who I am now if it didn’t happen. Thank you for staying with me.” 

“Of course. You shouldn’t have to be alone when you’re upset,” he said, sensing that she was ready to stop talking. “Do you want to sleep?” 

Lisbon nodded. 

“Do you want to go back to bed or stay here?” 

“Stay here,” she said quietly. 

He lay back against the couch as he so often did at work, Lisbon stretching out atop him. Jane pulled the blanket over her carefully, arranging it so that both of them were covered. Once he was satisfied that neither of them would get cold, he gently stroked her hair until she fell asleep, drifting off not long after her. 

_ 

Filtered sunlight drifted in through the living room windows as Jane stirred on the sofa. He felt as though something was missing, and he realized immediately what it was when he sat up and a blanket dropped softly to the floor, Lisbon no longer laying with him. Straightening his shirt, he heard the water from the shower running and idly wondered if Lisbon had eaten breakfast yet. Assuming she hadn’t, he started some water for tea and set out a pan for eggs. The digital clock on the stovetop informed him that it was very late morning, the two of them having slept in after he found Lisbon in the kitchen the night before. 

He was halfway through buttering a few slices of toast when she appeared behind him. 

“Good morning,” she said happily. 

“Morning, Lisbon. I made some breakfast, it’ll be done in a few minutes. Feeling better today?” 

“Actually, yeah. It helped to talk to someone, and I think being tired made it worse.” 

“It always does,” Jane agreed, setting a plate of eggs and toast in front of her. “But I’m glad I was able to help.” 

“You slept in,” she pointed out. “It’s already 11:30.” 

Jane raised his eyebrows. “Scandalous. If we actually had to report in to the office, we’d be so late.” 

She laughed, something he was unspeakably glad to hear after her emotional state the night before. “We’d be in so much trouble.” 

“And somehow I doubt you’ve ever been late a day in your life.” 

“Not once,” Lisbon confirmed, a sparkle in her eye. “But I bet you run late all the time. You’re one of those ‘I’m on my own schedule’ kind of people.” 

“Got it in one.” 

“Sometimes I don’t know how you’ve made it this far,” she said, settling her fork down heavily. “All I know is that if I were as late as you are or ran off even half as often as you, any one of my old bosses would kick my ass.” 

Jane grinned. “I’m just lucky to have a boss that doesn’t want to kick my ass.” 

Unable to punch his shoulder like she normally would, she flung soapy water off the plates at him. “You’re a pain.” 

“But you don’t mind!” Jane wiped bubbles off his shirt. 

“If that means I put up with you, then yes.” She stuck out her tongue childishly. 

Just then, Lisbon’s phone buzzed. Taking a moment to read the text, she jumped up and grabbed her laptop, booting it up in record time. 

“Everything okay?” Jane asked. 

“It’s fine. We apparently were scheduled to video call with the team, update them on progress , and things like that. I lost track of time and almost missed it.” 

Before long, Van Pelt answered the call from her laptop, the rest of the team crowding around her desk to talk instead of joining from their own computers. 

“Hey, boss, Jane! How did everything go at the fight?” Van Pelt asked. 

“Oh, fine,” Jane replied airily. “Teresa accidentally won a lot of money.” 

Lisbon dropped her face into her hands, the team reacting a bit differently to the news. It did not escape Grace that Jane had called her Teresa instead of Lisbon. 

“What?” Rigsby spluttered. “You weren’t supposed to win!” 

“I know!” Lisbon shouted. “I didn’t mean to, it was an accident!” 

Jane confirmed this. “It was an accident. The odds were stacked up pretty high and I didn’t think there was a chance of her actually winning anything.” 

“What do you think these people know?” Cho asked. 

“They’re suspicious, but they don’t want to let on that they are. A new couple comes in for the first time and wins big? Highly unlikely. I’m willing to bet that they don’t think we’re cops, but they do think we’re either rigging the matches or cheating in some way,” Jane theorized. “I also think it’s probable that there will start to be eyes on the house. They got the address last night and will probably be sending people to watch at least the outside to make sure we’re telling the truth about who we are.” 

“So you need to lay low,” Van Pelt advised. “Don’t go out during the day, just in the evenings if there’s something you need to get done. You don’t want to look any more suspicious than you already do.” 

“Did you get names?” Rigsby asked. 

Lisbon knew that they did, although she couldn’t remember them. “Garrett introduced us to his cronies. They’re all pretty refined, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were the heads of some other crime rings.” 

“Miss Everett, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Blackwell,” Jane recited. “They didn’t give first names, probably going more for anonymity. I didn’t press on the names, mostly because I didn’t want to draw attention to us. But we were invited back.” 

“That’s progress,” said Cho, crossing his arms. “We need to find out everything we can about these other people.” 

“We can do some database searches for people in the area with the last names,” Van Pelt suggested. “I’m not sure if the names they gave you are real, but we can do some checking. Boss, you should be able to access the CBI archives and files on your laptop, so I can send you what we find.” 

“Sounds good. Anything I can do?” 

“Get ready to go to another fight. Keep up the ruse, and be on the lookout for anyone who’s looking at the house,” Cho said. “Nice work.” 

“Thanks. Let me know what you find on the names, I’ll have my computer and phone with me. Thanks, guys!” 

She ended the video call and Jane moved to sit with her. 

“Do you really think they’ll start staking out the house?” Lisbon asked nervously. 

“Not a stakeout, necessarily. They might drive by a few times, but they won’t do anything unless we prove that we’re sketchy.” 

“I don’t like it.” 

“I don’t either, but we have to keep doing what we’re doing. Everything will work out.” 

Lisbon exhaled loudly. “I think I’m going to help them with the search. Since I have access to records, I can see what I can find on our friends.” She sat on one end of the couch, laptop propped up on the arm. 

“I’m going to get some work done too,” Jane said. 

“Oh really?” she glanced at him. “So you want to help?” 

“Not at all.” He laid down across the couch, dropping his head into Lisbon’s lap and stretching his legs out toward the other side. 

“What are you doing? I’m trying to get some things done, Jane.” 

“I thought it was obvious. I’m going to take a nap. But since you’re sitting where my head would usually go, I’m just going to have to use you as a pillow.” 

“Fine. I don’t really care what you do, as long as I have a couple of hours to finish up with some things without being disturbed.” 

“Excellent!” He relaxed into her, closing his eyes, and within a few minutes, he was asleep. 

Jane stayed there the entire time Lisbon worked, only getting up once to drink a cup of tea before settling back down, resting his blonde curls on her thigh. She would admit to spending a few moments just watching him, his peaceful face pulled into a half-smile. His unruly hair was like a magnet to Lisbon’s hands, it looked so soft that she just wanted to run her fingers through it, but she restrained herself. Lisbon paced her typing to the rhythmic in and out of his breath, trying not to wake him. She knew that he was tired because he had stayed awake with her until she went to sleep, and he deserved to rest as well. 

But by late afternoon, Lisbon had finished with her research, sending one final email to Van Pelt summarizing her findings. It was no surprise that it had been hard to turn up anything on the people from the club, but there were a couple of hits for each of the last names, so she sent over the files for the team to take a closer look at.   
“Jane,” she hissed. “Jane!” 

He stretched and rolled over, almost falling off the couch. “What time is it?” Jane muttered sleepily. 

“Five. I just finished working. Now get up, my legs are falling asleep.” 

He grumbled but complied. “They are not. It’s not like I was sitting on you or anything.” 

“Okay, we are not having this argument,” she laughed. “Come on, get up. You have to call again, and I want something to eat.” 

Jane pulled the shiny card out of his suit pocket, the identification number a matte black 58 in the bottom corner. It was a different phone number from the last time, unsurprisingly, and a similar robotic voice answered asking for his name and ID number. This time, the address he received led to an abandoned aircraft hangar on the opposite side of town. 

“That’s new,” Lisbon said as she mapped the address. “I’m willing to bet this building is still registered to someone.” 

“Can we trace it?” 

“I’ll send it back to the office, see what they come up with. In the meantime, I’m done with working for the day.” 

“Would you like me to start dinner?” 

“If you would, that’d be great. I’m going to grab my book out of the car, be back in a minute.” 

Jane had gotten no further than setting a saucepan on the stove before Lisbon came back, a stricken look on her face. He tried to keep calm and busied himself with getting out the ingredients for a sweet and sour sauce. 

“There’s someone outside the house,” Lisbon said. “A black sedan, but I can’t make anything else out, it’s too dark. No headlights, but there is a person in the driver’s seat.” 

“Sooner than I expected,” Jane said. “Where is it?” 

“Right across the street.” She gestured in the general direction. “The driver’s side window is facing the front of the house.” 

“I’d like to look, but we have to be casual,” Jane said. He caught her arm and pulled her towards the front door. “Put your back towards the door and let me face the windows.” 

As soon as Lisbon was positioned in the right direction, making sure Jane had a clear view out the front window, he kissed her deeply, taking the time to search the dark street for a car. It was almost an uncomfortable amount of time to spend in one kiss, but Jane needed to see out the window, so he trailed kisses down her neck to her shoulder, making Lisbon shiver. Eventually, Jane pulled away from her, leaning close to whisper in her ear. 

“It’s a Corolla, the first three plate numbers are TLX, I can’t see any more. I’m almost certain whoever it is can see us though, so play it off. Laugh at something I said, then push me away and we’ll go back to the kitchen.” 

Lisbon did as she was told, and he dragged her back to the safety of the other room. Without saying a word, he resumed cooking, and she watched as he prepped ingredients and cut up vegetables. Watching him cook was fascinating, it seemed as if he knew exactly the amount of each ingredient needed without using any measuring cups or spoons. Green onions, peppers, riced cauliflower, shredded carrots, and garlic went into a pan on the stove, cooking in sesame   
oil. Stirring the sauce, he poured it into the pan, adding the cooked chicken and mixing it all. 

Putting two portions in bowls, they ended up sitting on the couch instead of the table because it was less visible from the window. 

“Oh my god, Jane,” Lisbon said after a bite. “This is ridiculously good. I don’t even know what it is, but I love it.” 

“I’m not sure there’s a name for it,” he said after a moment. “I guess it’s just stir fry, but instead of rice, it’s cauliflower rice. It’s healthier that way, and I think it tastes just as good.” 

“If not better,” she agreed. Another beat of silence. “Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?” 

“You mean the man watching the house?” 

“Yes, that. What are we going to do about him?” 

“Nothing,” Jane replied casually. “We go about our business as usual, as long as he doesn’t suspect anything we’re fine.” 

Lisbon drummed her fingers against the rim of her bowl. “I don’t like it. It’s almost like I’m being stalked.” 

“As much as I hate to say it, we are being stalked, in a way,” Jane pointed out. 

“I feel like a sitting duck.” 

“They won’t try anything, Lisbon. As of right now, they’re not sure yet whether or not we’re for real. It would be horribly misfortunate to attack a potential ally, right? Which leaves only one choice, tail us until they know for sure we’re good people.” 

“And Rigsby’s supposed to come down from the office tomorrow. Maybe I should text and explain the situation?” 

“Meh. You can do that in the morning. For now, I’d like to do something to take my mind off of the dangerous criminal watching the outside of our house.” He washed the dishes quickly and pulled the ice cream they had bought out of the freezer. “Care for some dessert?” 

“Absolutely!” 

They returned to the living room with their bowls of ice cream, Jane having chosen vanilla and Lisbon eating black raspberry with chocolate chips. 

“Any idea what to do to pass the time?” she asked. “I don’t really want to move out of this room right now, it feels safer because no one can see in from this angle. Does that sound crazy?” 

“Lisbon, you never sound crazy. I would suggest a movie, but I’m far too restless for that,” Jane admitted. “If you want to watch something, we can, but I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to concentrate on it.” 

“That’s fine, I’m not sure I’d be able to watch a movie right now anyways. Is there something else you’d rather do?” 

“We could play a game. Do you like cards?” he asked, pulling a deck out of the inside pocket of his suit. 

“Uh, yeah,” Lisbon stammered. “Now I’m confused, do you always have those with you?” She pointed at the deck he was now shuffling. 

“Sure. You never know when you’ll need it, or have the opportunity for an impromptu game. What do you like to play?” 

“It’s been a while. There are a few games I don’t remember how to play, but I know rummy, poker, and king’s corners.” 

“Hmm. Two people for poker isn’t as fun, but I know I would beat you, so I’ll give you an easy out on that one,” Jane said with a wink. “We could play king’s corners. It’s a faster game, so we may have time for both that and rummy.” 

Lisbon wound up with a terrible hand the first round, so it was unsurprising that Jane beat her. After three more rounds, they were tied, and Jane suggested a tiebreaker in the form of one round of slapjack. Whoever got the first jack would win, until they moved on to playing a different game. There were a few false slaps, Lisbon accidentally hit Jane’s hand hard enough to leave a mark, but by the time they got to the right card, Lisbon was crowned the winner. 

“I can’t believe you,” Jane grumbled. “I think the only reason you won was that I was too scared to keep slapping the table. You’re very aggressive.” 

“I’m choosing to take that as a compliment because I don’t know how else to take it.” 

The man outside was quickly forgotten as Jane and Lisbon continued their competition with a few rounds of rummy. Once again, Lisbon was the winner, and Jane was left wondering how he could have possibly lost to her. 

“Ha!” she stuck out her tongue and put a big ‘L’ on her forehead with her hand. “Patrick Jane is the loser!” 

“Very gracious, Lisbon.” 

“You’re only saying that because you’re jealous.” 

“I’m not jealous, you’re just competitive.” 

“I’m not competitive, I just like to win,” she shot back good-naturedly. 

“You cops, you’re all the same. So competitive and such bad losers.” 

“I raised three brothers, Jane, of course I’m going to be a little competitive from time to time,” Lisbon said. 

“A little competitive?” he muttered under his breath. 

“I heard that!” 

When they had cleaned up their bowls and put away the cards, Lisbon cast a nervous glance towards the door. It was already locked, but she wasn’t sure if it would look too suspicious to pull the blinds shut too. It was a natural nighttime routine to make sure that everything was 

locked from the inside, but Lisbon didn’t want to do anything that would draw this man’s gaze. Jane noticed her mental argument with herself and came to stand next to her. 

“Do you want to pull the blinds? We can if you want,” he said. 

“You don’t think it’ll look bad?” 

“Not at all. If it makes you feel better, go ahead. I want you to feel safe, Lisbon.” 

“What makes me feel safe is knowing that I have my gun hidden away in the closet upstairs. But I might as well shut the blinds,” she decided. Not wanting to look too closely at the street, she passed each window, snapping the blinds shut behind her, and then following Jane up to bed. 

They took turns changing and brushing their teeth before sliding into bed together, the act still uncomfortable but less so than it had been at the beginning of the week. Lisbon passed out fast but Jane lay awake, listening to the sound of her breathing and watching the subtle flutter of her eyelashes as she dreamed. 

So beautiful. 

Jane knew that she was the reason his insomnia hadn’t been as bad, and he was already anxious about the day that all this would be over and they would go back to living their normal lives. He wasn’t sure what it would be like for him to go back to sleeping alone on the bed in the CBI attic after this, but he knew for a fact that he would miss Teresa. No amount of work friendliness would ever compare to the experience of living with her. It wasn’t as if either of them were seeing anyone though, and the thought that she might be interested in him romantically was enough to set Jane’s heart ablaze. 

Jane wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted Lisbon to hear, but the most he could do was whisper the words into the silence between them, left hanging. 


	7. In Too Deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! Hope you're having a good one, I know I am! Already getting in the winter/Christmas spirit! I will halfheartedly apologize for dragging out all this pining...but I say halfheartedly because that's just something I love to do ;) Anyway, here's the chapter for today!

They awoke together, Lisbon in Jane’s arms, the situation not as comical or embarrassing as the first few times it had happened. At first, Lisbon was afraid that being outwardly affectionate with him would expose her true feelings, but in her heart, she knew that they were past that point already. It had gone beyond just not telling each other, they were both dancing around the unspoken connection there. 

Lisbon wasn’t sure if Jane was ready for another relationship or ever would be, and even if he did, why would he want her? Besides, they were best friends and she didn’t want to upset anything. It’s not as if there was a ‘Dear Abby’ for being hopelessly in love with your best friend. By that point, her feelings had gone beyond just a tiny crush and had blossomed into full-on love. At first, she pushed the nagging feeling at the back of her mind away, blaming the thought on sleep-deprivation or tiredness. But before long, Lisbon realized that it was more than just a fleeting emotion. She desperately wanted him to be happy, he had gone through more than anyone should have to. If that meant keeping her feelings locked tightly up and pining after him her whole life, so be it. 

Jane suspected Lisbon’s intentions towards him, and her slowly crumbling emotional walls, but he didn’t want to break her fortress. He was unsure of whether or not she was actively searching for a romantic partner, and he knew about her trust issues. They had known each other for years and each trusted the other with their lives, but trusting someone not to break your heart is different than trusting someone to have your back. He knew from experience that it was like giving away a part of you and trusting the other person to take care of you through everything. It wasn’t something you could choose to care for some days and not others. Because of the nature of their platonic relationship, he wasn’t sure if she would trust him enough for that. But he was also sure that if Lisbon didn’t return his feelings, he would doom himself to a life of watching her go out and date and marry, wishing he was the one to sweep her off her feet. 

But at the moment, they weren’t “Agent Lisbon” and “Patrick Jane”, they were just themselves. Vulnerable, emotional, and walking on eggshells. But, it was comfortable there, tucked tightly together, generating a cocoon of warmth that neither wanted to leave. So, they didn’t. 

“Morning,” Jane whispered. Her only response was a groan. “Did you sleep well?” 

“Mmmm. Yeah.”

“I’m glad.” 

“Don’t get up, okay? It’s warm,” she murmured. 

Jane took the opportunity to pull Lisbon closer to him, her head resting on the crook of his shoulder. “I like laying like this. We fit together like puzzle pieces.” 

Lisbon wrapped an arm around him. “What do you mean?” 

“This,” he said, putting a hand to her head. “You’re exactly the right size to curl into me. If I lay on my back and you lay on your side, my arm fits perfectly around your waist and your head fits perfectly on my shoulder.”

“Like puzzle pieces,” Lisbon echoed. “And you don’t mind?” 

“Not at all. I like laying with you. You’re soft and comforting, not to mention it’s cute when you talk in your sleep.” 

“What?” she asked, stunned. “I talk in my sleep?” 

“You do,” he confirmed. “I’m surprised no one’s ever told you.” 

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what do I say? I hope it’s nothing embarrassing.” 

Jane laughed, a deep belly laugh that reverberated through the room. Lisbon always liked his laugh, it was so rare to hear him laugh out loud instead of just a quiet chuckle. It had taken her by complete surprise the first time she heard it, after months of grieving in silence. It was almost musical, a stark contrast to the gentle bass of his speaking voice. 

“You mostly just ask for things. Nothing weird, mind you,” Jane said, noticing the flush of embarrassment threatening to creep over her cheeks. “It’s a lot of ‘will you hand me that?’ and ‘I swear if you don’t move’ and ‘help me move this last thing and then you can be done’. I’m not even sure if you’re ever talking directly to me, but I still think it’s cute.” 

“Oh god,” she groaned. “That is embarrassing. Not the worst things I could be saying in my sleep, but still embarrassing.” 

“Two nights ago you asked me to get you some ice cream.” 

“You’re joking.” 

Jane shook his head. “I’m not joking. I honestly had half a mind to do it, even asleep you have all the bravado of a commanding officer.” 

“And what about you?” Lisbon asked. “Are you sure you don’t talk in your sleep?” 

“If I do, no one’s ever told me. But you, my dear, are a sleep talker.” 

They fell again into a companionable silence, the only sound the rising and falling of their chests. Lisbon closed her eyes again, thinking she could just fall right back asleep again tucked in his warm embrace. 

“You know,” Jane said. “When I was younger, I sleepwalked. That’s not too different from what you do. It only happened a few times though, that’s just something that goes away on its own.” 

“You sleepwalked?” 

“Not often, but yes. One time I woke up in someone else’s trailer. I guess they had forgotten to lock it, and I just walked in. I think I remember dreaming that I was looking for somebody, but I’m not sure who. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say I gave them quite a scare,” Jane said. “It’s more than a little unnerving to wake up to a child that isn’t yours standing in your kitchen.” 

She chuckled. “I like hearing your carnie stories.” 

“There’s not much to tell if I’m completely honest, but there are some notable exceptions. Did I ever tell you about when the snakes got let loose in the wrong booth?” 

“No!” 

And so they spent the rest of their morning cuddled together, regaling each other with the good stories of their childhood. It always felt good to remember the nice things about being young, instead of focusing on the hardships of the past. They both hadn’t had much of a childhood, so at least they understood to ignore the bad. Lisbon was full of stories about how her brothers were holy terrors growing up, and Jane was able to talk a lot about what it was like to be a carnie kid. It was obvious that that was part of the reason why Jane was who he was, wild and free and without a care for authority figures. Eventually, Lisbon decided she was hungry and they rolled out of bed and meandered to the kitchen. 

“Do you think that car’s still there?” she asked, pouring a cup of coffee. 

Jane went in to open the blinds. “It’s gone. Shame we couldn’t get the plate number.” 

“Hmmm.” She put cream cheese on bagels for both of them. “Should I call Rigsby and tell him not to stop by?” 

“Why? Will it actually benefit us if he doesn’t? We’ve already got a cover story, as far as anyone knows Rigsby is my brother who’s just stopping by while on a business trip in Sacramento. We can play it off if anyone’s watching.” 

“Maybe you’re right,” Lisbon said slowly. “Besides, it only looks weirder if we stay in the house for two days. I’ll tell Rigsby the plan is still on as usual, and we just need to make a bigger show of him coming over in case anyone’s watching. Just because there’s not a car there doesn’t mean they haven’t set up a camera somewhere.” 

After they ate, Lisbon texted Rigsby and emailed the rest of the team to keep them updated. Unsurprisingly, they went along with the plan and asked for updates if there were any. Lisbon desperately wanted to call and have someone set up a tail on the car from the night before, but it would draw too much unwanted attention to them. Instead, she busied herself by digging through some cold case files. It was something that the team worked on when days were slow or they had no active cases. Usually, they didn’t find anything new, but the methodic mental stimulation of running scenarios in her head often calmed Lisbon down. 

“You seem antsy,” Jane commented upon seeing what she was doing. 

“As I said, I don’t particularly like the idea of someone sitting and watching me.”

“No one’s watching you.” 

“Maybe not right now, but they could be at any time!” Lisbon insisted. “This is starting to get a little out of hand, Jane. What would happen if they decided we were suspicious and raided us like they did the last victims? There’s no way we could defend ourselves.” 

“Relax, Lisbon, you’re getting paranoid. Focus on your cases for now, you can bounce ideas off of me until Rigsby gets here. We’ll talk it out then, I promise.” 

So Lisbon picked a random file and ran Jane through the forensic evidence and suspect pool. It looked like a straightforward case, one that if they were assigned to it would have been opened and shut in no time at all. 

“You checked the husband?” Jane asked after reviewing the evidence multiple times. 

“Yes,” she groaned. “We checked. He was at a movie, we’ve got ticket stubs and receipts to prove it.” 

“Nine times out of ten, the husband is the killer.” 

“Jane, I know that. But it’s a solid alibi!” 

“Any alibi seems solid until you find the right thing to break it,” Jane said. “What did you say the husband did for a living?” 

“He’s an anthropology professor at a local community college,” Lisbon read from the file. 

“And did SFPD talk to the students?” 

“Yeah, let me get the interviews.” She searched the archives for the right video and turned up the volume on her laptop. “This is one of his students.” 

In the video, the girl looked very uneasy, not necessarily a sign of guilt, but maybe that she had a gut feeling about the man. She told the interviewer all about what they had been learning in class, how they were focusing on learning about pagan religions in early Caribbean culture. It all seemed so straightforward, but one detail caught Jane’s attention. 

“She said they went to go see a movie as a class?” 

“Umm, yeah, they did,” Lisbon said, getting the transcript. “A week before the murder. Some documentary about paganism, I think.” 

“And what’s the name of the movie that he said he went to see on the night of the murder?” 

Lisbon quickly searched it, and sure enough, the names of the movies matched. “So he already knew the plot,” she said. 

“So he went in, bought tickets, left, killed his wife, came back in time to see credits roll on the screen, and was able to tell investigators what the movie was about. Clever,” Jane finished. “I always wonder if these people think they’re going to get away with it.” 

“I believe they think they’re smarter than us,” Lisbon mused. “I wonder if they know we’ve been doing this stuff our whole life. And plus, we’ve got a human lie detector on our side.” 

“Jeez, woman, aren’t I more to you than that?” 

“I suppose,” she said playfully. “What more do you want to be? You’re already the reigning champion of the ‘Pain In The Ass Award’ for several years running.” 

“Aw, Lisbon,” he said, putting a hand over his heart. “How touching. But admit it. You want me on your team.” 

“Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“You close cases,” Lisbon said simply. “That’s the main reason you haven’t gotten fired yet. But, I know that if anyone tried to remove you from my team, I’d fight to get you back.” 

In all honesty, Lisbon knew that she would do more than just fight. She may be the leader of the team, but she would go anywhere Patrick Jane went. It was as simple as that. Her life before she met him was a blank canvas covered in white paint compared to how it was now. As much as she complained about it, he kept her on her toes and she liked it. What she didn’t like was being responsible for the massive amounts of paperwork that followed in his wake as well, but she was willing to put up with it. He could lead her right off a cliff and she wouldn’t notice until it was too late. 

That being said, there had to be a line somewhere. Lisbon’s boundaries and Jane’s boundaries were very different. He tended to toe the line, never clearly to one side or the other, always one to respect her but not one to stay in the box she tried to keep him in. Lisbon, on the other hand, was bound by a strict moral code that kept her fully in the comfort zone at all times, not wanting to overstep or offend a friend. It was an interesting and unlikely friendship, the two of them, complete opposites but balancing each other out in the scale of life. 

“Well, that’s very nice of you. I’d fight for you too. Remember when Minelli put you on leave that one time? When you had to fake the breakdown?” 

“Yes, I remember.” 

“I argued with him about that for a long time before realizing it could work in our favor. So there’s always that.” 

“That’s true. There have been a few times where I’ve wanted to kick you off the team then and there, but I didn’t. We’d lose too much credit without you,” she said, a cruel attempt at indifference.

“Come on, Lisbon.” 

“What?” 

“You know it’s more than that. Sure, you like the credit and you like the reputation of the unit with the most closures. Anyone would want that. But you like having me on your team because I keep things exciting.” 

“Sometimes too exciting,” Lisbon mumbled. 

“Admit it.” 

“What do you want me to say?” 

Jane pretended to think about it. “I want you to say that you like having me around.” 

“Fine. Jane, I like having you around.” 

“See? Doesn’t it feel nice to tell the truth, Lisbon?” 

“Whatever.” 

They were prevented from taking the teasing any further by the chime of the doorbell. Lisbon, already anxious about being watched, nearly jumped out of her skin while Jane calmly stood up and made his way to the door. Choosing to stay on the couch, Lisbon quickly sent their findings on the cold case to SFPD, in an attempt to calm her racing pulse. 

Jane made his way back to the living room, practically dragging an embarrassed looking Rigsby behind him. “Look who I found!” 

“Hey, Rigsby. How are things?” Lisbon asked. “Everything still going okay in Sacramento?” 

“Oh, uh, yeah. Things are going well. We broke the case that Van Pelt told you about, so that’s another one solved. Don’t worry about the paperwork though, we already took care of it,” he said. 

Jane sat next to Lisbon, putting a hand on her knee and quickly remembering that they had company. “Teresa, that car is back. I just figured I’d let you know.” 

Rigsby cleared his throat uncomfortably, not used to his boss and Jane acting so...couply. 

“Great,” Lisbon said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “So not only do I have to go out tonight and pretend like I didn’t just win a ton of illegal money from a gang, but I also have to worry about being watched in what should be the safety of my fake house.” 

“Van Pelt didn’t get anything back on the plate,” Rigsby said apologetically. “But if it makes you feel better, we can put the house under surveillance.” 

“No, you can’t,” Jane said. “If they suspect anything, the jig is up. And we’ll probably only need this last night to get the connections before we can make the bust.” 

“As much as I hate to say it, Jane’s right. We’re really close to finding out about the last few people on the list, we just need confirmation of who they are and then Organized Crime can go in and do their thing,” Lisbon explained. 

“We’ve kept Walker and Sanchez in the loop. They know about the list of people in the inner circle, and we’ve gotten some information on some of them. I brought it with me if you’d like to read it to prepare for tonight.” Rigsby shuffled some papers around in his briefcase, before pulling a case file out and handing it to Lisbon. “We only have definites on Miss Everett and Mr. Spencer. You already know everything we do about James Garrett, and there’s not enough to go on to get information on Blackwell or Lloyd, so anything you can find out about them is great.” 

“Thanks.” Lisbon set the folder on her closed laptop. 

“What’s the plan for tonight?” Jane asked. 

“I talked to the team about it before I left, and they think it’s a good idea to keep it the same as the other times. Walker was still adamant about you wearing wires, but we talked him out of it.” 

“Thank god,” Lisbon interrupted. “What is it with that man and microphones?” 

“Uh, anyways,” Rigsby continued. “The only thing changed is going to be that you have to try and talk to the two that we don’t have information on. Do one of your tricks Jane, whatever it takes.” 

“Sounds good to me.” 

When Rigsby got ready to leave, the black car was still parked across the street. For their benefit, Lisbon put on a huge show of hugging Rigsby goodbye at the door, both of them staying on the porch long enough to wave at him as he drove off. Because the windows of the strange car were tinted, they couldn’t quite make out the person inside. Eventually, Jane kissed Lisbon, again to lend credibility to the con, and led her back to the living room. 

“So,” he said, laying with her thigh as a pillow, “What do we have on these people?” 

Lisbon grabbed one of the files and read aloud. “Elizabeth Everett, 42, supposed head of the Scarlet Vipers. She has connections to the international drug trade as well as money. She’s from one of the major crime families, probably inherited it from her father.” 

“Hmm,” Jane said. “Only one of them could have killed the Shades, right?” 

“Right. The wound pattern was from one person. But any one of these people could have had someone do it for them. It’s not unusual for heads of gangs to get other people to do their dirty work.” 

“But this time it was personal. Why leave the rings? They would help identify the bodies. Whatever they did, it was of great personal offense to someone.” 

“We’ve also got a file on Alan Spencer. He’s 54 and tied to some arms dealer down in Mexico, importing illegal assault rifles into the country without notifying border patrol.” 

Jane whistled. “Wow. But the Shades weren’t killed with an illegal weapon, were they?” 

“No. But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have gotten his hands on a registered gun,” Lisbon pointed out. “Regardless, we don’t have time for theorizing right now. We’ve got to get ready to go, it’s a long drive ahead of us.”

They found themselves in the upstairs bathroom again, Lisbon looking through her bag for something to tie her hair up with. Jane watched her with growing curiosity, wanting to ask a question but not wanting to disturb her. Finally, she found some bobby pins and hair ties and began to brush her hair. 

“Lisbon, wait,” Jane said, stopping her. “Can I brush your hair?” 

“What?” she asked skeptically. “You want to brush it?” 

“Yes.” 

“Why?” 

“Because it looks soft, I have nothing to do, and I’m good at this sort of thing.” 

Lisbon realized with a pang that he probably learned to do that for his daughter, but she didn’t want to ask for fear of upsetting him. So instead, she conceded, handing him the brush and sitting on the floor so that he could reach her from where he was sitting on the edge of the tub. 

At first, he didn’t want to ask if he could brush it for her, she was so fiercely independent that Jane assumed she wouldn’t want him doing it for her. It had surprised him when she said yes, and he eagerly took the brush from her, starting with the ends of her hair as he had watched her do earlier. The brush ran nicely from her scalp down the length of the chocolate brown waves, not catching on anything but gliding through an ocean of tawny locks. It had been a long time since Lisbon had anyone brush her hair, and she had forgotten how nice it felt to be so cared for. She closed her eyes, concentrating on his fingers moving through her hair, gently traveling over the curve of her neck. 

“Let me know if I’m pulling too hard,” Jane said softly. 

“No, it’s okay. That’s just something that comes with having long hair.” 

After what seemed like hours, Jane gave her back the brush, having deemed her hair completely brushed out. She didn’t understand why it felt as good as it did, seeing as how there was absolutely nothing romantic or erotic about brushing hair, but she felt happy and blushy all over. 

“What are you going to do with it?” he asked, watching her twirl it up at the back of her head. 

“Put it in a bun. It won’t take long, we need to get going.” 

Jane excused himself to go get ready, running his fingers through his hair to maximize his own unruly curls. Lisbon slipped into a dress, convincing herself that the perfume she daubed on her pulse points were for her benefit instead of Jane’s. She found herself wearing the emeralds again, resting at the base of her throat in front of her cross necklace, a detail that did not go unnoticed by Jane. 

The car ride was mostly spent in silence, neither of them wanting to acknowledge the change in that atmosphere between them since the afternoon. 

Lisbon so badly wanted to tell him what she felt, but the words caught in her throat, instead choosing to roll around in the breaker waves of her mind. It wasn’t that she was scared to say it, but rather that she was afraid of how he would react. Would he push her away? Leave in the middle of the night to god knows where and never come back? All her life people had abandoned her, and Lisbon wasn’t sure if she could bear it if Jane left too. 

Throughout the week, Jane realized that he never wanted to leave this safe circle between the two of them, never wanted to sleep again in a place where he couldn’t hold her close. It should have been so simple to say, whether in three words or a million. So badly he wanted to make this fake life real, sealing his promise and vow with wedding rings of their own. He had to admit, ‘Teresa Lisbon Jane’ had a nice ring to it.

They had to park in a hidden lot again, and Lisbon took a couple of deep breaths. 

“You okay?” Jane asked. 

“Yeah. I’m good. Nervous, but good.” 

“Don’t be.” All reservations aside, he leaned across the center console and kissed her, breathing in her spicy cinnamon scent and tasting strawberries on her lips. Her mouth was the sweetest honey, kissing him back passionately as her arms wound around his neck. When they pulled apart, each was breathless, pulses racing and nerves slightly alleviated. 

“Thanks,” she breathed. “You ready?” 

He led her to the entrance, again flashing the ID card with the false address, and they were ushered in by the bouncer. Lights gleamed across the reflective ceiling of the hangar, footsteps and voices echoing as guests mingled around. A single glance told them they were early, no sign of any of their persons of interest. 

“Do you want to get a drink?” Lisbon whispered in Jane’s ear. “I could use one.” 

She ended up ordering a scotch, one of the nice ones, while Jane sipped from a cocktail chosen at random. Lisbon was still slightly rattled from the unexpected kiss in the car, and she suspected that Jane knew exactly what she was feeling. 

“Have you seen anyone?” Lisbon asked as they sat down at one of the high tables. 

“No, not yet. It’s odd, because it’s almost time for the fight to start, and yet none of our suspects, ahem, gracious hosts are here yet.” 

“What are they waiting for? Last time, they were all here,” Lisbon hissed. 

Suddenly, James Garrett appeared behind Jane. “Speak of the devil, it’s Patrick Jane and Teresa,” he called over his shoulder. “Come on, sit with us. We’ve got front row seats.” 

“Glad to,” Lisbon said lightly, taking Jane’s hand. “Sweetheart, let’s go.” 

He allowed her to pull him to the table where the rest of the patrons were waiting. “Gentlemen, and ladies,” he said, kissing Everett’s hand. Lisbon pouted, then pulled him towards her for a kiss. “My girl gets a bit jealous,” Jane explained.

Lloyd sat forward. “You won big last time, Teresa,” he intoned in a southern accent. “Lookin’ to score again?” 

She leaned towards him and jutted out her chin. “Absolutely. Seems you lost out, it’s a shame about that. What do you do for a living, Mr. Lloyd? I’d assume a man like you has some money to put down.” 

“I do. I deal in art mostly.” 

“Selling it?” 

“More like...redistribution. Say, what’s all this interest all of a sudden?” He looked suspicious. 

“Oh, I just wonder,” Lisbon said innocently. “Sometimes I’d like to know what everyone does with their lives outside of thrill-seeking.” 

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t wonder,” Lloyd said harshly. 

“You don’t need to talk to her like that,” Jane said loudly. “Apologize.” 

“Patrick,” Lisbon purred. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it, did you, sweetie?” She fixed her gaze on Lloyd, flashing him a big, innocent smile. “Just got a little ahead of himself, is all.” 

Lloyd sat back. “Of course.” 

“See?” Lisbon said, putting a hand on Jane’s chest. “He didn’t mean to yell, he’s a sweetheart.” 

“Lloyd’s a strong one, I wouldn’t put too much up against him,” Blackwell said. “Less distinguished than the rest of us.” 

“Is that right?” Lloyd asked, tension rising from everyone around the table. 

“That’s right. I ship luxury cars, what do you do? Look at old paintings? Like I said, less distinguished. A bore, really. Who would want to stare for hours at some old canvas when they could be taking girls for rides in fast cars? Not me, that’s for sure,” Blackwell teased. 

“Cars, Mr. Blackwell?” Lisbon asked. “How exciting.” 

“It sure is. You’d like it, little lady. Zero to sixty in less than three seconds. Not much more of a thrill than racing around in a Ferrari SF90. Much more fun than anything Lloyd here could provide.” 

“And I do find it so attractive when a man drives a fast car,” Lisbon said, with a pointed look at Jane.

He held his hands up in mock surrender. “My love, if it’s cars you want, you need only to say the word.” She smiled, a teasing gleam in her eye. 

Thankfully, they had done a good enough job at easing the palpable tension around the table. Lloyd calmed down, although he was still fuming by the time they brought out the fighters. This time around, Lisbon had placed her bet early, money on the favored winner this time. That way, if he did win, she wouldn’t get as much and she wouldn’t have lost anything. So badly she wanted to excuse herself to the ladies’ room so that she could text what they had learned to the team, but it was just too risky. 

Jane squeezed her hand for the duration of the fight, knowing her anxiety of watching these people forced to beat each other unconscious. When the winner was announced, Lisbon was happy to learn that she had only won a small sum this time. 

“A winner again, Teresa?” Blackwell came up close behind her while she was collecting her winnings. “I’d be proud to have a girl like you on my arm. You expressed an interest in cars, perhaps I could take you for a ride one of these days.” 

Lisbon tried hard to not let goosebumps show on her exposed neck and shoulders as she registered his double meaning. “No offense to you, Mr. Blackwell, but I’m not sure my husband would approve. I’m sure you understand.” 

Blackwell skated a hand up her arm to her shoulder and Lisbon had to fight to restrain herself. 

“I’m sure I don’t understand,” he growled. “Pretty girl like you deserves a better man.” 

After what felt like hours, but in reality, couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, Jane was at her side, slipping an arm around her slender waist and pulling her in for a deep kiss. Blackwell lingered, watching them with interest. 

Once they had separated, Blackwell pulled Jane aside and handed him a card. “Patrick, a few of us are getting together tomorrow to meet up for a friendly game of poker, if you’re interested. It’s a rather steep buy-in, but with that little firecracker of a wife, I’m sure you’ll do fine. We’d love to have the two of you if you can make it.” 

“We’ll be there,” Jane said with a smile. “And I’d suggest not ever attempting to seduce Teresa again. She does have a temper.” 

Blackwell walked away, muttering something under his breath about modern age couples and how narrow-minded they were. Jane walked Lisbon to the car, his arm completely around her. She had hardly gotten settled in her seat when Jane demanded to know what Blackwell had said. 

“It’s nothing, Patrick.” 

“It’s not nothing. I can tell how shaken up you are. Did he threaten you?” 

“No! I can take care of myself, thank you very much. He asked to take me for a ride.” 

Jane huffed. “Jackass. Man doesn’t know another man’s wife from Eve.” 

“We’re not married,” Lisbon reminded him. “It’s not as if he was trying to seduce me away from you.” 

“Lisbon, he was. It’s the thought,” he tapped his temple seriously. “It’s the thought that was in his head. He thinks this is all real, and he also thinks it’s suddenly okay to take another man’s wife.” 

“I’m not making excuses for him,” Lisbon said. “You got there just in time. I swear I thought I was going to have to attack him.” 

Jane laughed. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t. That would have surely blown our cover.” 

“Yeah. I’ll text Cho and tell him what we learned about the other two patrons. What did Blackwell give you?” 

With a flourish, Jane pulled another card out of his suit pocket, identical to the first few but instead with an address. “My dear, we’ve been invited to poker night!” 

“Great,” she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “I can’t wait.” 

When they got home, they were both worn out from the long night. Lisbon grabbed some water and they took turns using the sinks in the bathroom, eventually sinking under the covers together. By this point, they didn’t even start apart, Jane slid over to where she was nestled, hugging her tight to his body and burying his face in her hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe, the plot thickens...and we're nearing the end now. How long will it take for them to get together???? Good question... (sorry lol!)


	8. Two's Company, Three's a Crowd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi!! Getting close to the end now...how will they catch these guys? This chapter is way longer than I intended, don't know if that's a good thing, but if not I apologize for the long read lol!!

Sometime in the early morning, when the world was still dark and most Californians were still asleep, Jane woke up curled around Lisbon. A glance at the bedside clock told him that it was nearly four in the morning. His mind roiled with the intrusive thoughts that so often plagued him in the night, an instant replay of one life-altering night so many years ago. A long hallway, a note, the door. Over and over until he couldn’t stand it. 

But there was something different about this night. So often, when he had that dream before he woke up alone, warm and cold at the same time. Jane always found himself unable to go back to sleep, unable to turn off the thoughts that grew like an avalanche. A long time ago he might have tried some sort of biofeedback or grounding trick to relieve his mind of the memories, but not anymore. They had stopped working after a few months. To his knowledge, nothing was effective in shutting out the thoughts, to pulling the plug on the repetitive visions and terrors. He had become almost nocturnal, up all night reading or learning something, and sleeping at the office during the day. That was until he had begun this mission. 

Sharing a bed with someone, specifically, Teresa Lisbon had eased his insomnia problems to an almost dormant state over the week they had been living together. It was easy to fall asleep listening to her breathing or feeling her move as she dreamed. This was the first time that he had had the dream since they began the op, and not wanting to wake her up, he settled for stroking her dark brown locks gently. However, it ended up having the opposite effect, Lisbon waking up a few minutes later. 

“Hey,” she whispered. “You okay?” 

“Yeah.” 

“You sure?” 

“I’m just thinking,” he said. “I’m sorry if I woke you, go back to sleep.” 

Lisbon rolled over to face him. “No, it’s okay. What are you thinking about?” 

Jane pondered whether or not to tell the truth. “Anything and everything. I had a nightmare.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry. You should have woken me up.” 

“You need your rest. I’ll be fine, go back to sleep.” 

“No. Talk to me, Jane.” 

He did want to talk to her. Desperately. It would feel so good to tell her everything, about the nightmares and the memories that so often haunted him. But telling her would be giving a voice to that fear, feeding the anxiety with anguish over what to say. Jane sighed, not knowing what to do. 

“You can tell me anything. I won’t think any less of you,” Lisbon whispered. 

Jane decided to just bite the bullet and tell her everything. “When I fall asleep, I see the hallway. The note. God, I think I’ve memorized it just from the number of times I’ve seen it in my dreams. I always wake up before I can open the door, which should be better, but it makes it worse. It feels like he’s behind the door, and I just can’t open it in time. I thought the dream had gone away, at least temporarily, but tonight it came back.” 

“I’m so sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry. There’s nothing you could have done, Teresa.” 

Lisbon realized that they were doing exactly what she had been afraid of, holding an emotionally charged conversation in the dark. At the beginning of the week, she had thought it was a good thing that Jane hardly slept, but deep down she knew she also slept better with him beside her. It didn’t change the fact that nighttime talks seemed to be so serious, and where she would have avoided it at all costs a week ago, now she was glad to be able to be there for him when he felt this way. 

She pulled the blanket up close to her chin. “You’re right. There’s nothing I could have done then, but you’re here with me right now and I can talk to you until you fall asleep again.” 

“You don’t have to.” 

“But I want to. If you’d rather, I could sing you to sleep,” Lisbon suggested, smiling in the dark. 

“No offense to your singing voice, Lisbon, but I really don’t want to hear that. I’m sure you’re a lovely singer, but it may honestly keep me up instead of helping me go back to sleep.” 

She laughed quietly. “Smart choice. I can’t sing worth a lick. My brothers always said I was ‘tone-deaf Teresa’.” 

“But didn’t you play an instrument?” 

“Clarinet, yeah. But just because I can read music doesn’t mean I can sing it,” she pointed out. “Besides, I think my talents lie elsewhere.” 

“I don’t disagree. Just out of curiosity, what songs did you sing?” Jane asked. 

Lisbon’s blush wasn’t visible to Jane, but she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “You already know I’m a Spice Girls fan. That, and classic rock. It was my dad’s favorite. Enough of me attempting to sing those and my brothers told me once and for all that I’m not allowed to sing in the house.” She was laughing at this point, trying to keep quiet. 

Jane chuckled. “In that case, I do think it would be better if we just talked until I fell asleep.” 

Lisbon hummed the chorus of ‘I Won’t Back Down’ before Jane groaned in protest. “Just kidding,” she said. “But there’s a taste of the ‘tone-deaf Teresa’ treatment.” 

“And we can skip the rest, I know how the song goes,” he teased good-naturedly. 

“But if you want, I’ll talk to you until you go back to sleep. Maybe I’ll just talk about work, bore you enough to fall asleep,” Lisbon suggested. 

“Seriously, you don’t have to. If you go to sleep, I can just listen to you until I fall asleep too. Is that okay?” he asked. 

“Sure.” 

Lisbon tucked her arm under her pillow, sighing softly and closing her eyes. Jane listened to her breathe and watched the gentle flutter of her eyelashes. So beautiful, and so different from how she looked when she was awake. He was going to miss this, miss her. Trying to distract himself from the fact that his little oasis with her might be over soon, he fell asleep again. 

At a more reasonable hour of the morning, she found him in the kitchen sipping at a cup of tea and reading his book. Lisbon slumped onto one of the kitchen chairs, dwarfed by the oversized hoodie she wore. Before long, she smelled coffee percolating, and a warm mug was slid in front of her. 

“Thanks, Jane,” she said, sipping the warm drink with her hands still in her sleeves. 

“Anytime. You look tired.” 

“Fix me up with six cups of coffee and I’ll be good to go,” Lisbon joked. “But you’re right, I am a bit tired.” 

He ran his fingers through his blond curls nervously. “I knew I shouldn’t have woken you up.” 

“Don’t worry about it, I’m glad you did. By the way, what are you reading? I’ve seen you with that book in your hand all week, and I haven’t once seen the title.” 

Jane removed the dust cover and held it up so that Lisbon could clearly see the title.

Immediately, she burst out laughing. “Seriously? ‘Weird History of the Universe in 400 Pages’? What even is that?” 

Looking slightly miffed, Jane tried to explain. “It’s fascinating, Lisbon, really. It takes you through a timeline of events strung together by weird facts about organisms and civilizations. It’s not Shakespeare, but it is informative.” 

“Okay. Give me a weird historical fact, Mr. Nonfiction,” Lisbon challenged. 

“In the 1830s, ketchup was sold as medicine,” Jane shot back without hesitation. “In the 13th century, the Pope declared war on cats.” 

He continued with a few more, and Lisbon was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe. “It certainly sounds...intriguing. Probably not my go-to for curling up with a book, but at least it’s interesting,” Lisbon said. 

“And what kinds of books are your go-to?” 

“I haven’t had as much time as I’d like, but I used to really love adventure and spy novels. And I definitely read my fair share of mystery books as a kid.” 

“That explains a lot,” Jane muttered. “You were just destined to be a cop.” 

“Basically.” Lisbon grabbed a bagel and sat down across from Jane. “Between that and wrestling my brothers, being a cop just seemed a natural choice.” 

“What would you do if you weren’t a cop?” Jane asked. “If you could have any other job, what would you do?” 

Lisbon hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. Something where I can help people. Maybe a social worker?” 

“I think you’d be good at that,” he said. “I’m not sure what I’d do.”

“Sometimes I feel like you’d fit in at any job.” 

“Lisbon, you know that’s not true,” Jane said. 

“I mean, sure, you’ve got that crazy mind of your own that can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but you’ve got a good heart. And you’re good at going with the flow, which is nice too, and you’re good at reading people. You’d be a good counselor, especially if you worked with kids,” she said. 

Jane smiled. Lisbon would never admit it, but she loved the way he interacted with kids while they were on the job. He was so gentle and caring and always up for an impromptu sword fight or game of make-believe. To be truthful, she was slightly envious, because he got to be everything she never had a chance to. When she was raising her brothers, she had to be the adult who made sure children stayed safe and her father didn’t get too out of hand with his punishments. Jane got to be just a father, someone who would play with his child and give her whatever attention she wanted. Lisbon knew it wasn’t fair to be jealous of a man who had lost his daughter, but she felt the twinge in her heart anyway. 

Lisbon wasn’t sure she ever wanted children. Of course, she had dreamed of it when she was younger, but raising three wild brothers had taken a little bit of that eagerness out of her. She supposed it would be different with a child of her own, especially if there was a father around to help out, but the thought still scared her. Being responsible for another life was terrifying. 

“It’s a good thing we have the jobs we do, though,” Jane said. “It would be hard for you to find another job that required this amount of kick-assery.” 

“Kick-assery? Really Jane?” Lisbon laughed. “I think you’ve been reading too much Weird History.” 

“Maybe I have. I should start using those slang terms around the office.” 

She flicked soapy water at him from where she stood at the sink, washing her mug. “You absolutely shouldn’t.” 

“Come on, I can be hip when I want to be!” 

Lisbon rolled her eyes. “The fact that you said ‘hip’ immediately proves that you’re not.” 

“Oh, the lady doth wound me so,” Jane said, putting a hand over his heart. 

“Sensitive.” 

“I am not.” 

“You are too!” Lisbon protested, flinging more soap at him. 

“Woman, I swear if any more soap gets on my suit, I will-” Before he could say more, a clump of foamy dish soap hit him in the face. 

Lisbon giggled uncontrollably. “Or else you’ll what?” 

“Or else I’ll do this!” 

Jane chased her in circles through the kitchen until she slid on something and slowed down enough for him to catch her. Quickly, he threw his arms around her waist and picked her up. Spinning her around, Jane laughed at the thrilled giggles coming from Lisbon, so uncharacteristically girly. When he began to get dizzy, he set her down on the ground, but not before tickling her stomach and arms. 

Lisbon leaned against the counter, helpless against the onslaught of tickles. Her stomach hurt from laughing and tears were streaming down her face before she managed, “Jane, stop! Please!” 

At this point, he was laughing too, her giggles only encouraging him. But since she asked, he did stop, pulling away to allow her to breathe. 

“Teresa Lisbon, you are ticklish!” He exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at her. 

“Everyone’s ticklish when they’re being tickled, Jane,” Lisbon said, still trying to catch her breath. “Especially when it comes out of nowhere.” 

“You provoked me!” 

“I only asked what you would do,” she pointed out. “I did not ask for a tickle fight.” 

Jane hummed thoughtfully. “Then I propose a truce. No more throwing soapy water at me, and I won’t tickle you anymore.” 

Lisbon stuck out her hand to shake on it. “Deal. Before you forget, we’re supposed to do a video conference with Walker and Sanchez, Minelli, and the rest of the team. We’ve got to tell them where we were invited, I want eyes on us. Smaller groups mean more opportunity for danger.” 

“I won’t forget. I’m going to get the address before we call Minelli so we know where we’re going.” 

Jane pulled out his phone and followed the same routine as with the previous cards, rattling off the number and his name before receiving an automated response with an address. When Lisbon looked it up, it came back as a dive bar on the outskirts of town, not far from where their house was. She expected that the reason it was chosen was because there would likely not be anyone there that wasn’t a part of the gang, and therefore it would be easier to conduct business as usual. But she also supposed that the patrons were onto them, considering the car that was parked outside their house again this morning. 

Lisbon’s feelings about being watched were about the same, but she tried her best not to creep into the territory of paranoia. It was all too easy to be looking over her shoulder every thirty seconds, waiting for the other shoe to drop. The only issue was that to make the con work, she had to act as nonchalant as possible, even flippant about the situation. 

Jane wasn’t altogether happy about being watched by a mysterious man in a car with tinted windows, but he did a good job of playing it cool to help alleviate Lisbon’s fear as much as possible. He knew she didn’t like the idea of being watched, so he tried to play it off in order to help her feel safer. Regular distractions were vital to that, and whenever they switched rooms he made sure that it wouldn’t be visible from the street. Any precaution he could take, he did. That being said, Jane realized that being invited to a supposedly friendly poker game was probably all a ruse to lure them out of hiding and into a spotlight. In the interest of friendship, he chose not to tell Lisbon his theory. 

“We can ask for backup, Lisbon,” Jane said upon seeing the gleam in her eye. 

“I don’t want backup. I just want to do this.” 

“Teresa, we don’t know what they want from us. Won’t it be better to have someone watching us from the outside, just in case? 

“No,” she shot back. “Because if we’re wrong and they’re just being inclusive, I don’t want to try and explain a police escort to a bunch of gang members.” 

Jane sighed exasperatedly. “I think they’re onto us. The car parked outside just seems like a formality at this point.” 

“But we don’t know for sure, and I’d rather play it safe alone tonight than blow our cover and get into a dangerous situation.” Lisbon plugged in her laptop and cued up the video chat. “Besides, we don’t know whether or not they want us to make the bust yet.” 

When the conference began, Minelli asked them how the operation had been going. He had been reading the reports sent over by the team, but since Lisbon and Jane had yet to update anyone on the situation as of the night before, they had a lot to catch up on.

“Last night we were given an invite to a poker game. It’s a small crowd, as far as I know, it’s just going to be us and the patrons,” Lisbon said. “We already got the address, it’s at a dive bar outside of Oakland.” 

“And what did you find out about Lloyd and Blackwell?” Cho asked. 

“Lloyd deals in art, likely of the stolen variety,” Jane informed them. “And Blackwell does cars. Probably stealing and smuggling outside of the country.” 

“I can run the names with the charges in the database, see if anything comes up,” Van Pelt piped up. “I bet they both have international contacts.” 

“Probably,” Lisbon agreed. "So we're going to go play poker with a bunch of felons."

Sanchez looked uncomfortable. "Can you wear wires?" 

"I don't want wires. It's too risky," Lisbon explained. "I was just telling Jane it doesn't make much sense to have backup, because if this game turns out to be a false alarm and they don't suspect anything, it'll be much harder to explain why there are police outside."

"But Boss," Rigsby said. "What if it's not a false alarm? What if the reason you were given this invitation is that they want to draw you out into the open?" 

"My thoughts exactly. Lisbon, if you find yourself in a situation tonight where you're stuck, it's not going to be easy to get to you," Walker said. 

Jane turned to face her. "Lisbon, as good a shot as you are, you can't defend both of us against that many people."

"What if a few of us went to keep an eye on you?" Cho suggested. 

"I'm liking this operation less and less," Minelli said. "I don't like putting two of my best people in danger, especially when they have no way to defend themselves. I have half a mind to pull the plug on the whole thing." 

"With all due respect-" Lisbon began.

"Let me finish. I don't want you two there without at least a few sets of eyes on the building. We'd need probable cause to burst in, and solid evidence to make an arrest, but I don't want you stranded there without help."

She tried not to let it show, but Jane could tell that Lisbon was fuming. 

“Sir,” she begged. “We’ve gotten this far, there are some really bad people involved here. If we can make a bust, we may be able to shut some of them down for good or make a deal to get their associates. Don’t you want that?” 

“Lisbon, you know I do,” Minelli said. 

“What if we agreed to have eyes out for us tonight? Would you let us finish out the mission if we had backup waiting?” Jane asked him. “That way, in case things go south, we have someone to rescue us.” 

Minelli thought about it for a minute, everyone holding their breath. “Fine. I want Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt stationed outside the building with eyes on you when you arrive. Agents Walker and Sanchez will be a few blocks away, tracking you in case things go wrong.” 

Lisbon’s sigh of relief was audible, but still, she felt the need to clear some things up. “We won’t have wires, but we’ll have our phones. Van Pelt put tracking software on them, so she should be able to watch us from the car.” 

“I can,” Van Pelt confirmed. “What if you were to call us and leave the phone on in your bag?” 

“Too risky,” Rigsby said. “They might be looking too closely, and besides, you won’t be able to hear as well from inside a purse.” 

“I have my digital recorder with me,” Lisbon reminded them. “Usually I use it for interviews, but if I clear the cache there should be enough room for me to leave it on in my bag. Besides, it’s more sensitive than a phone recorder anyway.” 

“Good. So take your recorder and your phones when you go tonight. We’ll call in on your phones when you get there so you know where everyone is,” Walker decided. 

“How are you going to tell us how many people are there?” Sanchez asked. 

“I can excuse myself to the bathroom and send a text,” Lisbon suggested. “I’ll code it, but you’ll know what I’m talking about.” 

“Lisbon,” Minelli said. “I want you to leave your gun in the house. Do not bring it with you. If something goes wrong and they find it, I don’t want them to have that power over you all. They probably have weapons on them, but in the case that we’re wrong about how tonight will go, there’s no need to bring more attention to yourself.” 

“I will.” 

“And look,” Minelli continued. “Whatever happens tonight, you’ve done well. These kinds of operations aren’t easy, and I’ll make sure a commendation goes in each of your files when you get back. But if we’re right, tonight we may make a huge bust. Lisbon, Jane, good luck.” 

The video call ended and Lisbon’s screen went black. She preened a little at the praise from her boss, always one to react well to compliments and positive reinforcement. If all went according to plan, it would be a career-making bust for all of them, but she couldn’t help feeling a little bittersweet at the realization that if they got what they needed tonight, the con would be over and she and Jane would go back to living their normal lives again. 

Jane reached over and squeezed her hand. "I know you didn't want backup, but it's how this has to be. And besides, we'll both be safer this way."

"Mmm," Lisbon grumbled. "I'd rather do this on my own, but if this is the only way, I'm going to have to be okay with it."

"It's not a reflection of your job," he pointed out. "You didn't do anything wrong, we just want to keep you safe."

"Logically, I know that. But I can't help feeling like I messed something up."

"You didn't. We'll both be safer this way, and to be completely honest I'd like to come out of this alive," Jane said, an attempt at lightheartedness. 

"Aha! So you think tonight is a trap."

"I never said that," he protested. "I just said I'd like to live longer than today."

"For what it's worth, I think tonight's a setup. They want to lure us out, find out once and for all who we are. How do you want to play this, Jane? We've been a step ahead this whole time, but now, I think they have the upper hand," Lisbon explained. "What's our strategy?"

"I think we play the cards we've been dealt. There's no good way to tell what to expect, but we have to keep doing what we've been doing. Any changes in behavior will be noticed."

"Okay. Let's get ready to go and we can go over the plan again with the rest of the team on the way." 

Lisbon led the way up to their shared bedroom and bathroom, grabbing her brush and flatiron. Jane sat on the rim of the tub as he usually did, chattering happily with Lisbon as she got ready to go.

"Why are you so fascinated with watching me do my hair?" Lisbon asked after a little while. 

"I'm not entirely sure. I like how you know what you're doing without looking, it's so natural and feminine."

Lisbon scoffed. "Oh please. 'Natural and feminine', my ass." 

"I'm serious. I like your concentration face. You scrunch up your nose and squint your eyes, it's cute," Jane said. 

"You don't have to flatter me."

"I'm not. It's true, you look adorable when you're focusing on something."

A blush spread over Lisbon's face and neck. "Thanks." She didn't know what else to say that wouldn't convey her conflicted emotions, so instead, she finished what she was doing and kicked Jane out of the bathroom so she could get dressed. 

"Do I have to leave?" Jane teased. 

"Yes. Out!" 

"But darling," he said, drawing out the word. "we are married."

"We are not," she said quickly. "Get out of the bathroom!" 

He playfully trailed a hand down her arm and reached for the handle. "I'll be waiting."

"Shut up!" Lisbon promptly shoved him out the door into the adjoining bedroom and locked it behind her. Jane was in a weird mood, she wouldn't put it past him to try and open the door just to make fun of her. Even though she knew he could pick the lock and open the door, it felt like an added layer of security. She put on a skirt, tucking her shirt loosely into the waistband, and admiring how it made her hips and waist look. Once she was satisfied, Lisbon walked out into the bedroom, accidentally catching a glimpse of Patrick Jane with his shirt unbuttoned. 

“Um, sorry!” she squeaked, rushing back into the bathroom. He finished getting dressed before opening the door again. 

“So I guess we’re even,” Jane said. 

“I guess we are.” Her face was painted with the crimson hue of a sweet blush. “I didn’t mean to walk in on you.” 

“It’s alright. Look, we’re running late. Let’s just go, okay?” 

On their way out, Lisbon grabbed her digital recorder and threw it in her clutch. They called the team again during the drive to confirm location and status, and everyone got to their places. Lisbon used the time to attempt to calm her racing pulse, momentarily jealous of Jane’s stupid biofeedback tricks. As he drove, he exhibited no signs of distress, not even an anxious hand flutter or fidgeting. This was another one of those times where she wished she could have brought her gun but knew that it wouldn’t help. 

Jane noticed the first couple of times Lisbon clicked her bag open and shut, but by the fifth time he reached a hand over to hers, steadying her movements. 

“Lisbon. It’s alright.” 

“I know. It’s a good plan. I just don’t like being the bait.” 

“Don’t think of it as bait, think of yourself as a lure.” 

“A lure is the same thing as bait!” Lisbon shouted. 

“It’s not,” Jane said patiently. “Bait is meant to be eaten, while a lure is meant to distract the prey.” 

“Real funny, Jane. We’re not a distraction, we’re gathering intel.” 

“But we’re distracting them from knowing what we’re doing. We may know what we’re doing, and we may know what they’re doing, but we don’t know that they don’t know that we know what they’re doing, and as far as I’m concerned they don’t know for sure what we’re doing,” Jane explained. 

“Could you possibly have made that more confusing?” Lisbon asked, frustrated. 

“I will if you want.” 

“Jackass,” she muttered. 

By the time they rolled into the parking lot, Lisbon had wriggled out of Jane’s grasp. The entire parking lot was dark, lit only by the lights outside the bar. Judging by the number of cars, there wasn’t anyone there besides them but the patrons. Lisbon twisted around in her seat to look for Van Pelt’s car, which was parked in an adjacent lot. Rigsby was with Grace, and Cho was waiting on the shoulder of the exit road. Sanchez and Walker had said they were no more than five minutes away, ready to give chase if needed. 

A few minutes later Lisbon and Jane found themselves in the bar, seated at a table set for poker. They were missing Elizabeth Everett, Jason Blackwell, and Alan Spencer, but Jane kept everyone entertained while they waited by doing some cold readings. Not long after he had finished reading Lloyd, the rest of the patrons showed up and they got the game started. 

Lisbon was playing for the two of them with Jane watching for tells and fake tells, keeping himself entertained. On a break between hands, he pulled Lisbon aside to get a drink. 

“Teresa, I believe most of the people here are armed,” he whispered. 

“How do you know?” 

“Blackwell’s favoring his right side when he walks. His gun is either in the waistband or his right side pocket. Garrett has a holster covered by his suit jacket, you can see it when he leans into the table,” he explained. “I’m not sure about anyone else, but I know they have a weapon or have someone who does.” 

Lisbon took this into consideration and realized they were taking too much time to be pouring a drink. “Okay. Nothing we can do. I’ll tell the team to be careful.” 

They returned to the table and played another hand, but Lisbon excused herself to the restroom, making a big show out of teasing Jane and asking him to play for her. 

“You won’t mess this up, will you darling?” she purred. “I do seem to be winning. Or would you rather hold the game until I return?”

“I’ll be just fine, thanks, dear. Go ahead. You can expect to see me winning when you get back,” he replied, just as playfully. 

Lisbon grabbed her clutch and walked as calmly as she could toward the bathroom. Once inside, she threw her bag on the sink counter and pulled out her phone, typing a frantic message to the team. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Here they were with five armed and dangerous criminals, with no way to defend themselves. 

God, Teresa, how could you be so stupid, she thought. Screw the orders, how she wished she had brought her weapon! 

It was practically a hostage situation that they had walked right into. If these people decided for some reason to make them prisoners, they could count on not being able to be rescued for fear of getting hurt. She quickly tried to think of a way to code a message to Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt. 

‘We have five cats,’ Lisbon typed. ‘Don’t forget to feed them all. Also, a few of them are biters, so try to keep your hands away. You may have to pick me up tomorrow morning sooner than I thought.’

Lisbon pressed send and watched as the blue bar told her the text was in the process of sending. Before it could fill all the way, she realized with dread that she had next to no service. A few moments later, the send bar had only filled up a little bit more, and she knew she’d have to get back to the game soon. Before she could turn around, the familiar sound of a gun clicking came from behind her, the cold metal of the barrel on her neck. 

“Drop the phone, Teresa!” Elizabeth Everett shouted. “Put it on the ground so I can see it, and put your hands up. Do it now!” 

Almost instinctively, Lisbon’s hands went up and she threw her phone at the ground near Everett’s feet. The woman picked it up and read the text aloud, chuckling at her cleverness. 

“Smart. A coded message. I assume you have someone waiting?” 

Lisbon didn’t respond. 

“Answer me! Do you have someone waiting?” 

“Yes,” Lisbon said. “Outside the building.” 

“Who are you working with?” The woman asked. “Tell me, or Patrick dies.” 

She marched Lisbon out of the restroom at gunpoint, forcing her back into the main room. Keeping the gun trained on her, Lisbon was able to make out that Jane had been tied to his chair, Blackwell’s gun pointed at him. 

“Teresa was attempting to contact someone outside of the building,” Everett announced to the group. “They now know how many of us there are and that we are armed.” She threw the phone on the table. 

“Damn you!” Garrett shouted, bringing the butt of his gun down on the phone and shattering the screen. 

Lloyd jerked a thumb towards Lisbon. “Who is she? How much does she know?” 

Lisbon’s heart gave a flutter as she realized she didn’t know whether or not her text was sent. If it hadn’t gone through, they were toast. No one knew they were in trouble and they had no way to tell anyone they were. She caught sight of Jane’s phone, smashed into pieces on the ground. 

“I don’t know. But we can’t kill them here. Whoever’s waiting for her outside will hear the shots,” Blackwell pointed out. 

Keeping the gun steady, Everett reached towards Lisbon and slapped her, hard across the face. She then raked her nails down Teresa’s arm, drawing blood. Lisbon winced slightly, trying not to cringe. 

“Who are you?” Everett cooed. “Innocent little thing. We didn’t even suspect you until the day you won the underdog bet.” 

Blackwell strode over to her, tracing her cheekbone with one finger. “Such a pretty face. You are a beautiful woman, you know that Teresa? But even beautiful women have their downfalls. As much as I hate to say it, now that we know what you’re doing, I’m going to have to kill you. A shame really. I would have loved to have you.” 

Jane grunted at this and pulled on his restraints, doing nothing but burning his wrists against the rope. 

“Quiet!” Garrett yelled at him. 

“You aren’t married to Patrick, are you, Teresa?” Spencer asked. 

Lisbon shook her head. 

“But you do love him,” Everett mused. “Perhaps the best way to get her to talk is to go through him?” 

Lloyd held a knife to Jane’s neck. “Every minute you don’t talk, I’m pressing harder on the handle,” he said. “So I advise you to get your story straight.” 

“Knock it off, Lloyd!” Garrett yelled. “Knife marks are identifiable, use the gun, for Christ’s sake!” 

“Idiot, you’re going to screw it up, just like when you killed the other girl! Shade, I think it was. We have these two where we want them, she’ll talk,” Lloyd said confidently. 

“Do it!” Everett screamed, hitting Lisbon again. 

Her pulse picked up as she watched Lloyd’s grip on both Jane and the knife tighten. “My name is Teresa Lisbon. Patrick and I were sent to find the Shades’ killers.” 

“Oh, shit,” Spencer said. “They’re cops! What can we do?” 

Jane whimpered as the knife got closer to his neck. Lisbon’s pulse was racing, running a marathon in her chest as she watched, helpless and with no way to defend herself. The patrons seemed to be figuring out a way to get them to a clear location without anyone noticing. 

“What if we take them out?” Blackwell suggested. “Put them in a car and drive them somewhere else?” 

“Isn’t that too noticeable?” Garrett asked. 

“I vote to kill them here and walk out the back,” Everett said. “Get in a car and drive away as far as the east coast. I could have one of my men clean up.” 

“No, that’s too messy,” Lloyd said. “No loose ends, remember?” 

“What about the last couple? A lot of loose ends there,” Everett shot back. 

“You bitch!” Spencer cried. “You said you could get them out without a trace!” 

“I’d like to see you do better!” Blackwell yelled. 

Lisbon caught Jane’s eye then, watching as this group turned on each other. It almost seemed as if Jane was using his division strategies, but there’s no way he possibly could while gagged and tied. The group seemed to be coming to a decision, the yells quieting to whispers and the conversation dying to a minimum. 

“Alright, bitch,” Blackwell said, prodding Lisbon with the barrel of his gun. “Walk. We’re going out the back. Any wrong moves and I won’t hesitate to kill you.” 

They untied Jane from the chair and marched him at gunpoint to the alley behind the bar. Lisbon wanted to call their bluff, knowing that they wouldn’t kill them out in the open but decided wisely to keep quiet. Jane, on the other hand, didn’t get the memo. They had taken off his gag when they untied him from the chair, and he spoke freely as if there wasn’t a deadly weapon pointed directly at him. 

“You won’t kill us here,” he said as they walked through the back alley. “Too open, too vulnerable. Besides, you want us alive as bargaining chips.” 

“What makes you think you’re worth anything to us?” Garrett growled. 

“Oh, just the fact that we’ve got people waiting for us. You don’t want us dead.” 

They hadn’t gotten too far before the sound of sirens filled the air and three police cars pulled up. Doors slammed and Cho, Rigsby, Van Pelt, Sanchez, and Walker were there, pointing guns at the five patrons. 

“Drop your weapons!” Cho yelled. 

“Do it now!” Van Pelt commanded. 

They were surrounded on all sides, and the criminals knew when they were beaten. Slowly and carefully, they dropped their weapons, and as soon as they were in handcuffs Lisbon ran to Jane. 

“Jane, oh my god. Are you okay?” She put her hands on either side of his face as if feeling for bruises. “Tell me you’re okay.” 

“I’m fine,” he said, holding up his wrists. “Just a little bit of rope burn. You took more of a beating than I did.” Jane ran his hands carefully over her cheek, glowing red from the slap. 

“I’ll be okay,” Lisbon said. “It’s nothing.” 

While their burns and bruises were being attended to by an EMT, Cho told Lisbon the story. 

“I got the text. Your signal went dark and we figured you were in trouble. We all moved in on the building, but we heard lots of shouting and decided to wait until they brought us out. Sanchez thought we’d be dealing with a hostage situation, and he wanted to call SWAT.” 

“But we knew Jane had a plan,” Van Pelt said. “So we convinced him to wait.” 

“Yeah. We had been waiting so long by the time we caught sight of you, I almost thought they had gone the other way,” Rigsby admitted. “But we got you.”

Lisbon inhaled sharply as the EMT put disinfectant on her scratch marks. “It was okay, we just got a little bruised. I have the tape from my digital recorder for the official statement.” 

Cho patted her on the back. “Nice work boss. It’s going to be great to have you back.” 

As the EMT told her she was good to go, Lisbon realized she’d be going back to her own apartment, alone, tonight. The team decided to do the paperwork when she returned to the office, giving her time to go by their fake house and pick up her things before driving back to Sacramento. After she and Jane had packed up the house, he got a ride back to his motel with Rigsby while Lisbon drove the SUV back to her apartment. 

She got there late, putting away her clothes and toiletries while letting the stress and adrenaline wash over her. It was time to pull her head out of the clouds and get back to the real world, She was the boss, and she had a job to do. As much as Lisbon wanted to laze around a house forever with Jane, she had responsibilities. And besides, being lazy would get boring. By midnight, her body was ready to go to sleep but her mind wouldn’t stop replaying the events of the evening. Was Jane feeling the same withdrawal effect she was? Lisbon only hoped she wasn’t being irrational. 

She wandered into her kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, the movements almost habitual. Sitting down on her couch, she turned on some evening TV special, not paying any attention to it. Her thoughts went instead to Jane, who was alone at his little motel in the middle of nowhere. Was he feeling as alone as she was? Did he actually miss her, or did all their little interactions throughout the week just amount to some sort of stupid game? 

Her relationship with him was troubled, but she was still hopelessly in love with the man, the feeling only intensified by all their playfulness earlier in the week. At this point, sleeping wasn’t an option. Lisbon typed out a text to Jane on her recovered phone. 

‘Hey. Hope you’re doing okay,’ it read. ‘Is it bad that I miss you?’ 

After several rewrites with the same premise, Lisbon decided it wasn’t a good idea to send it after all. So she let it be, thumb hovering over the ‘send’ button.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Just one chapter to go...how will they get together???


	9. Like Puzzle Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is folks...the conclusion!! This one's a bit shorter, but it has a happy ending! Will Jane finally confess to Lisbon how he really feels?? ;)

Patrick Jane was still pacing around his motel room, hours later. It hadn’t taken long to put away all of his things from the week, nothing good was on TV, and he had finished his book, leaving him with lots of time to think. Sitting down with a cup of tea had proven useless, the usual calm getting lost in the maze of thoughts swirling around in his head. So instead, he walked around the tiny room, not talking, not doing anything but thinking. And naturally, his thoughts went to Teresa. 

Teresa Lisbon found herself in a similar state, unable to sleep, sitting on the couch in her living area, typing and retyping drafts of the same message to Jane. Just when it seemed like she was going to settle on one, she would erase it and rewrite. Over and over. Weighing her options, she decided it wouldn’t do her any good to send it, but then again, it wasn’t every day that a girl got to attempt to change a friendship to a relationship. 

Jane walked and walked until he got tired, eventually leaving his room to pace the outside hallway of the motel, thinking of nothing but Lisbon. Was it really all for show? He knew Teresa, and he knew she wasn’t naturally inclined to be open about a relationship. She seemed to take the whole fake marriage pretty seriously, to the point where he wondered if she was joking. What was it she said to him? Were they just a means to an end? It was true that he had some struggles with relationships, never seeming to be quite ready to give up the memory of his old life. 

After what felt like a million rewrites of one text message, Lisbon threw her cracked phone on the coffee table in disgust. When had she become one of those women to obsess over the tiniest things? God, it was like she was back in high school. Pulling apart messages, reading between the lines, it just wasn’t like her. Something about her errant behavior frustrated her beyond reason, unable to pinpoint the exact cause. The longer she thought about it, Lisbon realized that the cause of her unusual behavior wasn’t something, but rather someone. Patrick Jane. 

Jane’s mind had circled back to the way she had opened to him in that week, more so than she had in the years he had known her. The moment he met her, Jane had gotten a sense of the kind of person she was. Caring, loyal, protective to a fault. All of the things he wanted to be, but none of the things he was. He had to admit to himself that he was a broken man, jealous, narrow-minded, with tunnel vision reaching toward a goal. But that wasn’t the endgame, was it? It couldn’t be. 

Lisbon toyed briefly with the idea of just calling him, no longer agonizing over how to write the message, and just spilling her heart to him. Maybe she just needed to sleep. Maybe it was one of those fleeting moments of vulnerability where she thought she needed to say something, but it would only make things worse. 

Fluttering his hands anxiously, Jane noticed a glint off the wedding band on his left ring finger. He hadn’t taken it off for the mission, it hadn’t seemed like the right time. But the more his thoughts went to Lisbon, the more it seemed like the time to take it off. In all the years since the death of his family, he hadn’t once removed the ring. At first, it felt like a sign of respect, a way to pay homage to their memories. Then, beyond that, it was a warning to other people. And further, it was a reminder of everything that had happened to him and why he could never go back to that life. 

A flash of gold caught Lisbon’s eye as she held the phone again, reading old messages between her and Jane. The low light in her apartment reflected off the golden band still on her finger, and the sight of it made her want to cry. She hadn’t noticed in all the commotion that it was still there, a steady reminder of who she had become. Eyeing it uneasily, it was all the confirmation that she needed. Without looking back, she hit send on her message, anxiously waiting for Jane’s response. 

By the fifth time he had walked the hallway, Jane had gone back to his motel room, staring uncomfortably at the ring. Was it right to wear it when he had moved on? Ultimately, he decided it wasn’t fair to Teresa or Angela to keep the ring on. As much a part of him as Angela was, Teresa was his future. It wouldn’t be right to keep her waiting on him when he was ready. Jane slid the ring off his finger for the first time in years, putting it safely in the inside pocket of his jacket. Grabbing his keys, he ran out to his car in the parking lot. 

Lisbon had been dozing, not falling into a restful slumber, but rather just floating in and out of sleep as the TV droned sounds of nighttime shows. It was much past midnight, her text having gone unread for at least an hour. She pulled the throw blanket from her couch to lay it out over herself, trying to steel her nerves into something that resembled her usual relaxed exterior. 

Jane knew he had broken numerous traffic laws on the drive to her apartment, but he didn’t care. Speeding tickets were the least of his concern. The only thing that mattered was Teresa. He had to get to her. 

A knock sounded at her door, pulling her unceremoniously from sleep. Practically stomping to the front door, Lisbon looked through the peephole. It was Jane. 

“What the hell?” she asked, yanking the door open. “Do you have any idea what time it is? I had just gone to sleep!” 

She was wearing sweatpants and an oversized tee-shirt that fell to her thighs. Jane had never thought she looked more beautiful than she did now. 

“Lisbon,” he started, scratching the back of his head nervously. “Look, I know it’s late. I’m sorry. But I have to talk to you.” 

“Okay,” Lisbon said, opening the door wider. “Come inside, it’s chilly out there.” 

“Can I make us some tea?” 

“Sure. I know you know where everything is already, so I guess I shouldn’t bother to tell you,” Lisbon joked. 

Jane busied himself in her kitchen, first heating the water, then adding milk to their cups, making his tea the way he learned. Lisbon watched him with piqued curiosity, he wasn’t usually this quiet. Neither of them said anything, taking the first sips of their warm drinks. She ended up leading him to the living room, the two settling on opposite sides of her couch. 

“Are you going to tell me what this is about?” she asked. Then, a thought occurred to her. “Are you answering my text in person?” 

Jane blinked slowly. “What text?” 

“The one I sent earlier. Didn’t you see it?” 

“Uh, no,” Jane admitted. “Currently, my phone is sitting in pieces in an evidence bag somewhere. What did you want to say?” 

Lisbon blushed prettily. So all her agonizing over what to say to him had gone to rot. But if it wasn’t her text, why was he there?

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she replied, waving him off. “Unimportant. You said you had something to say?” 

“Well, yes. And I thought you deserved to hear it in person.” 

Lisbon’s heart beat like a drum in her chest. “Okay. Jane, you’re making me nervous. What did you need to talk to me about?” 

“This has been a long time coming, Teresa, my apologies if I don’t get it out all at once.” 

“Jane.” She put a hand on his knee. “It’s okay. Whatever you want to tell me, you can.” 

He took a deep breath. “Teresa, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed our time together this week. I know it hasn’t been easy, and it was a little uncomfortable at times, but I really appreciate how you went out of your way to take care of me.” 

“I know you didn’t come all the way over here to thank me,” Lisbon said quietly. 

“You’re right. I have something else to say. Well, something else to confess, really.” His heart was beating out of his chest, it wasn’t like him to be so nervous! 

Lisbon found herself hanging on every word he said, waiting to hear the words she hoped he was going to say. “Then tell me.” 

“Teresa Lisbon, I love you. I’ve been in love with you for a long time, years even, since we first met. I am in love with the way you talk and the way we argue and the color of your eyes. I adore your loyalty and kindness. I don’t want there to be a day where we aren’t together anymore.” 

Lisbon’s eyes glistened with tears. 

“And I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way, and it scares me, but I am in love with you. Completely, deliriously, head-over-heels in love with you, Teresa. I just had to tell you.” 

“Jane,” she whispered hollowly. 

“You don’t have to say anything right now. In fact, you don’t have to say anything at all.” He scooted closer to her on the couch, taking her hand in his. “But look. I took off the ring. It was time. You’re my future, Teresa. It’s time for me to stop living in the past.” 

Tears flowed silently down her face now, brought to the surface by the raw emotion coursing between them where they were holding hands. He pulled her to him in a tight embrace. 

Teresa’s voice was quiet, no louder than a whisper. “I love you too, Patrick. So much.” 

It was then that he caught a glimpse of her left hand, the ring from the undercover mission still in its place on her finger.

“You kept it?” he breathed. 

Lisbon laughed. “In all the commotion from earlier, I didn’t even realize I was still wearing it. You get used to it after a little while, I didn’t notice it was still there.” She moved to slide it off her hand, but Jane stilled her movements. 

“You don’t have to give it back, do you?” 

“No, I don’t think so,” Lisbon said, puzzled. “Why?” 

He twisted the band off her left hand and moved it to her right, slipping it into place on her ring finger. “Because I’m rather attached to it. Think of it as a promise ring. You can keep it here, on this hand, until you’re ready for me to get you a real one.” 

“Is that a proposal, Mr. Jane?” she teased. 

“Not a proposal, just a promise. The proposal will be a surprise, but only when you’re ready.” 

Teresa laughed and smiled. “Patrick? Will you say it again?” 

“Say what?” 

She gave him a pointed glance. “You know what.” 

“How much I love you? I’ll say it again every day if it makes you happy. That’s the only thing I want, Teresa, I want you to be happy. I don’t want to feel like we have to go back to our normal lives, I want this, the two of us, to be our normal life. Because I have never felt more right than when I’m with you.” 

“Beautiful,” she whispered. “Almost as eloquent as the first time.” 

“And I’ll say it a million different ways until you grow tired of it.” 

“I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.” 

She leaned towards him on the couch, his hand cupping her chin and gently pulling her closer for a kiss. A real one this time, not just a ploy to keep up their relationship in front of other people. Now, there was no one they had to show, their feelings were theirs and theirs alone, private and kept safe from the world. 

As they sat on her couch in the dim light, Patrick’s arms around Teresa, she realized for the first time what love felt like. It was electric, a live wire coursing through both of their systems and pulling them together in a burst of energy. She felt it in her lips as they kissed and he felt it in his hands as he held her in a hug. 

Patrick was right, she thought, remembering his comment from earlier. They really did fit together. 

Just like puzzle pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this story, I know I had a blast writing it! Thank you so much for all your kind reviews! Nitro9, I'm glad you feel like I did the prompt justice. If you haven't already, please please check out the stories on her profile! They're excellent! 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me, I hope to see you in the next one! <3

**Author's Note:**

> And so the case is set...I couldn't resist writing an undercover story! These two are so cute, they just beg for it! It's not as case heavy as some of the others, but I needed a convenient plot device to force them together. (and maybe Minelli was in on it lol) I hope you liked it, and I'll see ya in the next one!


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